Family Portrait
by Jonna Aviva
Summary: Five years ago Dylan made the hurtful decision and left Kelly and their unborn child, at that time vowing to himself to never return to LA again. On the outside Brandon and Andrea have what many would consider a textbook marriage. A Dylan/Kelly and Brandon/Andrea story, mostly AU.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

The sun was setting down in the distance. The beach was already nearly empty just the last couples here and there making their way down the shore. The scene reminded him of another beach back at home where the couple down the shore used to be them. Taking a swig from the bottle he screwed his face as the taste of alcohol hit his throat. During the years of absence he forgot how disgustingly it tasted. But the delicious taste was not what he was after. Alcohol always made him forget, that's what he needed this time as well.

Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a photo staring at it for countless time that day. He hadn't seen her in years, five years six months and twenty-three days to be exact, but looking at the photo he could swear that she hadn't aged at all. Kelly Taylor was still as beautiful as ever, he ran his finger over her face. What he couldn't miss tough was the pain in her eyes. The pain he knew he caused. His eyes slipped lover looking at the brown haired girl seated in Kelly's lap. She must have been five by now, starting kindergarten, learning the letters and numbers, finding new friends, laughing and running around, keeping her mom on her toes every day, a brief smile crossed his face. He missed it all.

He could still remember the night he left her, the memory forever engraved into his brain. In a completely untypical Los Angeles weather it was pouring rain outside. On his way out he stood in the doorway for minutes looking at her sleeping form, taking in every detail of her, her eyes, her lips curled up into an absent smile, her hand resting on eight months pregnant belly. He was not expecting that she'll understand that leaving her and their unborn child alone was the best thing he could have done for them. He did not expect her to appreciate it, even if she knew his reasons.

After he left Los Angeles he traveled for a while, Europe, Asia, Australia...finally finding his home in this small town in Bahamas where he lived a peaceful life away from everything and everyone. Until this morning. The last thing he counted with when he got out of his bed was to meet Brandon Walsh. Just as he didn't expect the few well-meant friendly words he said to him. He did not blame Brandon though, he had no idea. No one had an idea why he left.

His eyes were drawn back to the photo, examining the little girls features. She had Kelly's smile and lips, the rest was all him. Deep down he wanted their child to look just like Kelly so she wouldn't have to look at the remainder of him for the rest of her life. His eyes still on the precious little girl he pushed those thoughts quickly aside.

He sat there alone for a few more minutes just staring into the distance deep in thoughts. It had been hard staying away from them until now. It was going to be even harder now. When he knew he had a daughter not a child, when he knew that the pain after his departure was still visible in Kelly's eyes. Maybe it was time to return...maybe it was safe to return again...

* * *

"Ava Taylor, it's the last time I'm telling you to get out of your bed." Kelly's voice gave away her irritation as she walked into Ava's room on that particular morning. Pulling the sheets off her daughter's face her mommy alert told her immediately this was not one of Ava's lazy days. She brushed the back of her hand over her daughter's forehead. It was hot.

"My tummy hurts, mommy." The little girl let out, the tears building in the corners of her eyes.

Kelly quickly though back to the previous day trying to figure out what Ava ate, but couldn't think of anything that could make her feel unwell. Maybe it was again that bug that was going around the kindergarten? She wrinkled her forehead in worry.

"I'll go and grab something that will make you feel better." Kelly said soothingly. Regretting her previous harsh words she tucked her little girl back in the bed and placed a kiss on her forehead. She'd have to call to work letting them know she won't be coming. Harry won't be happy as it was the third time in the past two weeks that she called in at the last moment. She stopped short of the doorway and looked back at her daughter who laid in her bed with her eyes closed sobbing obviously in pain. For the first time the idea of this not being only a stomach bug crossed her mind.

Turning around swiftly she walked back inside heading to her daughters bed. Running the back of her hand over her soft cheek she watched as the little one opened her eyes. "Come Ava, I'll help you get dressed and we will head to see doctor Laurie." She said softly.

"I don't want to." Ava sobbed pouting her lower lip.

Without discussing it any further Kelly walked towards the dresser picking up an outfit for her daughter, dressing her while the little one had a full blown meltdown.

Half an hour later they were sitting in the waiting room. During the drive Kelly called her work and also the praxis to let them know they were coming. Luckily they didn't have a packed schedule that day and promised to take them as soon as they arrived, which turned out to be true when the door flew open and Sarah, the nurse, called them in.

With Ava clinging to her like a koala bear she picked up her daughter carrying her inside.

"You can sat her directly on the table." Sarah spoke closing the door behind them.

"Hello Ava. Hello Kelly." The doctor greeted them walking into the office.

"Hello Laurie." Kelly replied, while Ava just sat there silent, so untypical for the otherwise chatty little girl. The doctor and Kelly exchanged a glance.

"Your mommy is telling me, your tummy hurts." Laurie spoke to the little girl who barely nodded in reply.

"Can you show me where does it hurt?"

"Here" Ava said quietly placing her hand on the right side of her abdomen.

"Alright. How about your mommy helps you get your top off and I'll have a better look at your tummy?" Laurie said soothingly.

Helping her daughter with the shirt she held her hand watching as the doctor gently kneaded her daughter's tummy. Ava winced a few times, but otherwise made it through the examination with flying colors.

"It's all soft." Laurie stated when she was done. "Does she have fever?"

"She seemed hot after she woke up, but I haven't measured her temperature." Kelly replied a guilty expression on her face.

"We will measure it." Laurie gave Kelly a reassuring smile. Working with children for years, she'd seen so many parents beating themselves up for the smallest things. "It's slightly higher. To be safe I'd like to draw some blood and send it for the labs."

"Alright." Kelly confirmed. She couldn't have known that the results that came back later that day were going to turn her life upside down.

* * *

"Daddy!" The little boy shrieked throwing himself into Brandon's arms as soon as the door closed behind him. His favorite welcome home committee after any trip he had to make.

"Hi champ!" Brandon threw his son into air catching him safely into his arms seconds later, the little boy giggling.

"I've missed you." Isaac stated wrapping his arms around Brandon's neck, his heart melting. With his job leading him to many places around the world, leaving his family behind even for the shortest amounts of time was the hardest thing he had to do.

"I've missed you too. Were you a good boy for your mommy and sister?" Brandon asked watching as Isaac nodded his head.

"Yes, he was his usual cute little monster self for the past three days." Hannah stated leaning against the doorframe a grin on her face.

"Hello to you too, Hannah." Brandon grinned moving towards her with Isaac still in his arms.

"Hi Brandon." Hannah let out hugging her step-father.

"Where's your mom?" Brandon asked as they pulled apart, standing Isaac back on the floor. Andrea was usually at home at this hour.

"She called about two hours ago. Some emergency at work. She'll be late. Maria is in the kitchen preparing dinner." Hannah sighed turning around and leaving in that direction.

Brandon gave one quick glance to his baggage that was thrown near the door and quickly decided it could wait, following his son and daughter into the kitchen. With his and Andrea's time demanding jobs Maria has been their savior. She helped them with the household and took care of the kids when they couldn't be there, both Hannah and Isaac loving her dearly.

It was not an easy decision for them as parents leaving their kids with someone else. Even if Maria was basically their family, the fact led to many discussion among the couple and ultimately to the decision to not have any other children after Isaac was born a little over three years ago.

Walking into the kitchen he smiled seeing the scene in front of him, Hannah was helping Isaac to set the table. The little boy always wanted to do things as the grownups around him. Brandon could just stand there the whole day and watch the two of them interact together. Despite the age gap they loved each other to pieces. Whenever Hannah was gone for her time with Jesse, Isaac couldn't wait to have his big sister back and the other way around, although she would never admit it in front of her parents. Moving inside the room to join them Brandon was really thankful for his little family and all the joy they were bringing into his life.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"You're tense." Brandon stated the obvious while closing the bedroom door behind him. He moved to sit down on the bed next to Andrea. After she arrived home from work that evening she had been far from her usual self.

"It's been a long day." Andrea massaged her temples knowing it was going to turn into a long night too. Her mind preoccupied.

Brandon kissed the side of her head. "I've bought you something." He jumped up from his place and headed to his night table picking up a white sleek box he left there hours ago.

"You shouldn't have." Andrea chastised him thankful for the moment of distraction as he disposed the box into her hand and she took the lid off revealing a silver necklace with a shell shaped pendant on it. "It's beautiful." She whispered running her finger tips over the chain before looking up to Brandon again. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Brandon smiled satisfied, sitting down on his previous place. For now he was going to leave out the news about whom he met during his trip to Bahamas.

Resting her hand on his face Andrea brought him in for a kiss. At least one before she'll have to tell him about the emergency and he'll understand the cause of her current mood.

"Too bad you're tired. Isaac is asleep in his own bed and this could be one of the rare nights when we have the bedroom just for us." Brandon grinned when they pulled apart.

"As tempting as that sounds..." Andrea let out a barely audible sigh. Would it be wrong to wait with her news until the morning? Not really, but she knew she was not in a mood to enjoy their closeness. "The emergency..." She said finally looking him straight into eyes. "It was Ava."

Brandon looked at her confused before it clicked, his eyes going wide. "Kelly's Ava?"

Andrea nodded softly. "They came in today late afternoon, her oncomarkers are through the roof."

Brandon just sat there staring at his wife, unable to say a word. "She seemed fine last week..." He finally blurted out. This couldn't be happening. Not to one of their friends kids.

Despite the seriousness of the situation Andrea had to smile inwardly. How many times before had she come accross the same reaction? That was the viciousness of cancer, you had no idea when it will attack the body of your little one with full force.

"Is it bad?" Brandon asked finally looking into Andrea's eyes.

"We still have to run a few tests and some results from today will be available only tomorrow. We would be wiser after everything is in." Andrea replied.

"Come on, Andrea. I'm not a parent of one of your patients. This is our best friend's daughter we're talking about." Brandon growled.

"Yes, but she's still my patient. While Kelly was fine with me telling you about Ava, I don't think she'd appreciate the discussion you're forcing me to have. Besides, I don't take wild guesses until I know all the facts." Andrea sighed.

"Yeah, you're right..." Brandon rubbed his face. "I'm sorry. It's just..." He stopped looking for the right words.

"...that it's Kelly's child." Andrea finished the sentence for him.

"That too." He mumbled quietly.

"I was sitting there today, going through the first results. All I wanted to do was tell Kelly that her little one was going to be fine and I couldn't do it. I can't say it to you either." Andrea let out looking at her husband.

"I'm not asking you to. I know this is your daily reality. I am aware that there are happy endings and sad endings and you witness them every day. I just never expected it to come this close to home." He said, finally finding the right words.

"To tell you the truth, neither did I." Wrapping her arms around his waist she rested her head on his shoulder, the two of them sitting there in tight embrace.

* * *

Walking through the maze of hospital hallways he found her easily, sitting alone in one of the hospital chairs her head bowed down.

"I thought you could use one." Brandon spoke as he reached Kelly, handing her a cup of coffee.

"Thanks." She spoke quietly taking the cup from him not surprised in the slightest to see him standing there. It was clear Andrea told him everything the previous evening.

"Where's Ava?" He asked taking a place in the chair next to her.

"They wheeled her away...for MRI I think... I'm slowly loosing track and it's only the second day here. I couldn't go with her." Kelly smiled sadly.

"How is she doing?"

"She's not in pain anymore, that is good. But she is scared. They are constantly poking her with needles and measuring this and that, whisking her away for examinations."

"They are trying to work out what's wrong and how to help her." Brandon said carefully.

"I know and I'm really thankful that she's in good hands. Through all of it knowing that Andrea is there with her is reassuring. For both of us I guess." Kelly added quickly.

"I can imagine." Brandon uttered. Who was he fooling? He had no idea what it felt like, the worst he had to deal with was Isaac's skinned knee.

Kelly didn't seem to mind though as she continued. "It's crazy, isn't it? Yesterday morning she was a healthy little girl with an aching tummy, now twenty-four hours later she is in hospital with her oncomarkers through the roof and everyone trying to work out what's wrong with her."

"Kel...I know it seems scary, but I'm sure they'll find out what's wrong and help her."

Kelly took in a sharp breath. "I just keep asking myself if I could have done something. She had been having these pains on and off for two weeks and I brushed it off as a stomach bug. I should have brought her in a lot sooner than I did."

"You couldn't have known..."

"Yes, I could. I'm her mother, I should have known something was wrong with her."

Before their discussion could have gone any further a bed appeared in the hallway with two nurses pushing it and Andrea following them. Standing up Kelly quickly brushed the tears that spilled on her cheeks away, heading to her daughter. Both of them and the two nurses soon disappearing behind the door of one of the rooms.

"Hey. I was expecting to meet you here today." Andrea spoke to her husband.

"I had to see her." Brandon said softly.

"I know and I'm not having a go at you." She looked over his shoulder seeing if everyone was gone before she spoke again. "In the coming weeks and months both of them are going to need all the support they can get."

"Is it so bad?" His worry was hard to hide.

"It's not the end of story." Andrea said vaguely before kissing her husband. "I'll see you at home tonight." With those words she disappeared behind the same door as Kelly seconds ago.

"Kelly, can I talk to you?" Andrea spoke as soon as the door closed behind her. She could see her friend hesitate for a moment before she nodded. Kissing her daughter's forehead and speaking to her softly she followed Andrea outside.

"We will take this to my office." Andrea said as soon as both of them were outside of the room.

Following Andrea, Kelly's eyes fell on the colorful walls painted with cartoon characters. She never expected their life to take this ugly turn. After Dylan left them years ago it took her some time, but she got her act together and found her balance as a single working mom. They were doing good before the news came yesterday. She couldn't help but wonder how was their life going to change now.

With Ava in hospital, would she need to give up her job? How were they going to pay the bills? Deep in thought she nearly missed when they reached Andrea's office. Her anxiety raising. What if Andrea was going to tell her, her baby girl was not going to make it? She felt the taste of bile in her mouth and had to quickly swallow it before following Andrea inside.

When the door closed behind them Andrea could see how pale and nervous Kelly was. There was no time and place for small talk she concluded as the two of them sat down in her office. "I'm still waiting for the results of repeated lab tests, but I'm pretty sure with Ava's diagnoses." Andrea stated watching as Kelly nodded waiting for her to continue. " Pediatric Hepatoblastoma." Andrea said.

"What's that?" Kelly's eyes were on Andrea.

"Relatively uncommon tumor on liver. It usually affects children under three years, but has been found in older children too." Andrea explained.

"Is it possible to remove it?"

"Yes." Andrea nodded her head. "Ava's one looks to be in stage IIC. It is completely resectable, but her markers are already up, the good thing is there are no metastasis in other organs or bones present."

Kelly felt slight relief. "What is going to happen now?"

"We will start preparing her for chemotherapy as soon as the repeated lab results are in. She will need up to three rounds, we will see how it goes. That will be followed by surgery and another two or three rounds of chemotherapy about a month after her surgery." Andrea explained.

"What are the survival rates?" Kelly had almost refrained from asking but she had to know.

"At this stage very good. If she reacts well to the chemotherapy and tumor is successfully removed, it's up to 100%."

Kelly let out the breath she didn't even know she was holding. That was the best news she had heard ever since Laurie called with the results the previous afternoon. She rubbed her face. "I don't know what to say, Andrea."

"You don't have to say anything, Kelly. We are still only at the beginning, but the odds are good." Andrea assured her. "Once the repeated labs are in, I'll talk to you again and Ava as well and explain in details everything that we are going to do in the next days."

"Thank you, Andrea." Kelly let out, really meaning it. Long road or not, it's always easier to walk with a few friends around, especially if one of them is an expert in his field.

* * *

Walking into the Peach Pit he looked around. Five years later the place looked no different. The only thing that was different was him.

"Dylan!?" He could hear the familiar voice and saw David Silver making his way towards him through the mass of people.

"Good to see you, Silver." Dylan spoke as the two of them exchange a handshake and hug.

"I hope my eyes are not deceiving me."

"No, man. Dylan McKay in front of you as I live and breathe." Dylan smirked.

"What brings you back after all those years?" David questioned him, he knew he should be mad at him. But the endless optimist in him that was nurtured by his wife and two daughters was telling him, that Dylan back in town was a good thing for Kelly and his niece.

"You have to ask?" Dylan raised his brows. He came for one reason only, to get his family back and he was not going to leave without them again.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Sunset outside, the twilight in his hotel room. Lately the ideal combination for him to contemplate. He did not plan on bumping into any of his old friends in his old hang-out during the first hours of his return. Not that he couldn't see it coming. In the end it did not matter if the word will get around before he meets Kelly. All that mattered was her and their daughter.

Kelly, his thoughts turned in different direction. Coming back to Los Angeles was the easy part. Making her listen to what he had to say was going to be the harder one. She could be really stubborn at times. And in all honesty, after what he put her through, she had every right to refuse to even look at him. Taking a swig from the bottle of beer Dylan stood up heading to the window.

* * *

The same sunset and twilight, this time in a hospital room. With her arms wrapped around herself Kelly stared outside the hospital window. Ava was finally asleep in the big hospital bed, the clear liquid flowing into her veins, preparing her for the first round of chemotherapy. Kelly felt her stomach tighten again.

The repeated lab tests confirmed Andrea's preliminary diagnoses. It was clear now, this hospital room was going to became their home for the next weeks. Turning slightly away from the window Kelly looked at her daughter's small sleeping form. Since the day she was born she's been her all and everything. At times Ava was the only reason why she still got up from her bed in the mornings. She had surprised her tremendously in the past two days with how bravely she was handling everything. Yes, there were a few tears shed and a whining, but most of the time her little girl had made her proud.

Leaving her place by the window she closed the short distance to her daughter's bed running the back of hand over her soft cheek. She looked just like her father, it was almost scary. She already lost Dylan years ago, she couldn't imagine losing Ava as well. The tears were now falling down her cheeks freely and she had to walk away. Laying down into the make-shift bed she quietly cried herself to sleep as many nights before.

* * *

"Here you go." Brandon said standing above Andrea who was seated on the floor staring into the flames of the fireplace.

"Thank you." She looked up at him taking the glass with red from his hand and setting it on the floor in front of her.

He couldn't miss the tiredness in her eyes, but didn't comment on it while he joined her on the floor. Knowing that she was in a tough position and fully aware how hard it was for her, he did not push the other pressing issue either. It was her turn to speak if she could and wanted. His arm slipped around her shoulders a simple gesture of support. Seconds later he felt her head resting on his shoulder. Turning his head slightly he pressed a kiss into her curls.

"The results are all in." Andrea breathed out. "Ava has a tumor on liver."

Without a word Brandon stared into the flames in front of him for a moment processing the information she offered. "What's going to happen now?"

"Chemotherapy, surgery, if we're lucky she'll come out of it with a scar and a few unpleasant memories..."

He breathed out. "She's too young to go through all that shit..."

"Aren't they all?"

He could only agree.

"I don't know if I can handle it." Andrea let out playing with the glass in her hands.

"You've been through it many times before." Brandon said slowly.

"Yes, but that was different. Those were just some kids. I was part of their life for a short moment. I was never really emotionally invested in their stories. With Ava it's different. I know her since the day she was born, I was there the majority of the five years of her life. I don't know if I can do this."

"If you would hand her care to another doctor...I'm sure Kelly would understand."

"Would you?" Andrea looked up searching his eyes. It was one of those moments when she had to ask for his permission. She accepted long ago that he was always going to be partial to Kelly and Ava as well. That there will always be a part of him that'd look out for her, maybe even love her. She was fine with it, because she knew that while Kelly was important to him, he was in love with her and their family and whatever will happen they'll come first.

"Yes." Brandon confirmed. "If you think you're too emotionally invested and it can influence your objectivity and decisions that need to made in Ava's best interest, then you should absolutely hand her care over to another doctor."

Andrea rested her head back on its previous place listening to his heartbeat.

"Are you going to do it?"

"I don't know. My mind is telling me yes, while my heart is saying no. I've no idea which one is right."

Wrapping his arms around her Brandon just held her. He couldn't tell her either what was the right thing to do in this case. While as her husband he understood and supported all her reasons to hand Ava over to another doctor, as Kelly's friend he knew that with Andrea her daughter was in best hands.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Donna Silver hurried through the hospital lobby, her perfectly styled shoulder length blond hair flying behind her. Stepping out from the elevator on the fifth floor she turned to the right just as Kelly told her to and found her friend wandering the hallways all by herself seconds later.

"You should have called earlier." Donna chided her as the two embraced each other.

"We're fine. I didn't want to bother you and David." Kelly ran her fingers through her hair, just one simple look into her tired eyes and Donna knew immediately it was not true.

"Come." Donna guided her towards the chairs. "Is Ava asleep?" She asked once they were seated.

"Yes, they are giving her something in the IV drips, she's been sleepy most of the time." Kelly looked away for a brief moment. "She's handling it better than I thought she would. I on the other hand..."

Donna's hand covered Kelly's. "You're her mother. Of course you're worried sick. I'd be as well if it was Rose or Emma. She's too little to fully understand what's going on around her and the severity of it."

"She's too innocent to understand. I just watch her laying there and I wish it was me..."

"Don't say things like that." Donna shook her head.

"She is five, she should be outside playing with her friends and not lay in the hospital bed." Kelly felt the tears burning in her eyes again. All these thoughts that she was having ever since she took Laurie's call the other day. She was just constantly bringing herself to tears whenever Ava was not around.

"You're right, she shouldn't be going through this. No one should. But she is. The good thing is, she is strong like her mamma, she'll make it through Kel." Donna said soothingly.

"Andrea says the prognosis is good." Kelly brushed away the tears.

"See, that's a good news." Donna smiled softly.

"Yes." Kelly agreed taking a deep breath and trying to compose herself, the two friends sitting there in silence for a brief moment.

"Kel, there is something else you should know." Donna let out. Ever since David told her about the Dylan's sighting she was going back and forth if she should tell her. Now with the news about Ava. Donna closed her eyes briefly, despite everything that was going on Kelly had a right to know.

"What is it?" Kelly questioned her when Donna remained mum.

"Dylan's back in town." Donna let out, she could see the blood drain from Kelly's face and for a moment she was sure Kelly will pass out.

"Have you seen him?" Came her timid voice.

"No, David did. Yesterday afternoon in Peach Pit."

"Is he here to stay?"

"I don't know, Kel." Donna shrugged, she wished she had more information to share with her friend.

"I guess all of this is a revenge for the boring life I've been leading lately." Kelly sighed resting the back of her head against the cold wall. In a matter of three days her life has been turned upside down and there was no sign about it getting back to normalcy any time soon. Was she ready to face him again?

* * *

Several hours later, ready or not, she found herself face to face with her former boyfriend and the father of her child. Stepping out of her car in front of the house where they used to live together, she found him sitting on the stairs. For a moment she was unable to move or breath, he still had this effect on her. She watched in trance as he stood up moving towards her, that's when her survival instincts kicked in. Passing him without a word she hurried inside closing the front door behind her and resting her back against it.

She wanted to hate him, she really did, but even after everything he put her through, even after leaving her and their daughter, she couldn't. The feelings she felt after seeing him just for a few seconds were scaring her. Closing her eyes she tried to steady her breathing, her heart beating wildly.

It was not helping that once she opened her eyes again everything just flooded back, the tears streaming down her cheeks. Their last night together. Eight months along she fell asleep in front of the TV way before he came home after closing After Dark for the day. She could still feel his lips on hers when he woke her up after midnight. She could hear his voice as he chastised for not going to bed earlier and teased her that she'll complain endlessly about her hurting back. His touch and lips as he made love to her before she fell asleep again in his arms feeling secure. Only to wake up the next morning and find out she was alone. Her worst nightmare coming true again, Dylan McKay walking out of her life without a word or warning.

Brushing the tears away she moved further into the house. She couldn't do this, not again, and certainly not now when she should fully focus on her daughter. Moving around the house quickly she gathered all the things she needed for herself and Ava. Once she walked outside half an hour later Dylan was gone. She knew the relief she felt was going to be short-lived, but she enjoyed it nevertheless.

* * *

Seated alone in his old club filed with people the lights dimmed he stared into the glass in front of him, the ice melting into the expensive whiskey. Once again he was proved right. Coming back to LA was the easy part, making Kelly listen to what he had to say was going to be next to impossible. Letting go of the glass he rubbed his face. Two days ago in Bahamas when he brought the ticket home he never expected to find his daughter in a hospital bed and Kelly on the edge of breakdown. They've had better times, way better times than this.

 _"Come on Kel! It will be only you, me and the fire and winds blowing, you don't have to look fancy and all that jazz." He grinned shouting the words out loud._

 _"I'm coming!" Came her muffed reply._

 _He let out a sigh burying himself deeper into the sofa in beach apartment. He knew it will take at least another ten minutes before she'll walk out of her room ready for their camping night. It still captivated him that Kelly enjoyed camping, and rides on the motorbike. She didn't really look like that kind of girl. Another confirmation that looks can be deceiving._

 _Raising his eyes with a smirk plastered on his face he found her standing in front of him with her overnight bag in one hand and sleeping bag in another. He stood up taking the overnight bag from her. "You won't be needing the other one."_

 _"I know, but Donna and David do not need to know that." Kelly bit her lip looking at him from under her thick eyelashes._

 _"Right, Kel. Who are you trying to fool now? We've been together for the majority of our senior year and spent the summer together. In Europe, alone." He raised his brows looking at her hoping she'll get his message. "Besides even if we have two you always end up in mine. Your ice cold feed need to be wrapped around mine looking for some warmth." He gave her a wink taking the other bag from her hand and heading into her room to dispose it there. He could hear her sigh as she followed him._

 _"Okay, I give up. Have it your way." She huffed finally standing in the doorway and watching him._

 _"You can be really prudish at times." He shook his head playfully._

 _"Like when?" Kelly raised her brow a playful smile on her lips._

 _"Like right this moment." He took her hand leading her outside both of them laughing as they called goodbye to Donna and David, heading off for their Friday camp night._

 _Hours later, close to midnight, they were snuggled together in Dylan's sleeping bag but the sleep was avoiding them. The fire burning in the fire pit and the winds blowing, just as he promised her._

 _"This feels nice." Kelly mumbled into the darkness Dylan's arms wrapped around her._

 _"Yes, it does." Pressing his lips on the crown of her head Dylan just validated his comment. Neither of them was good with words when it came to their feelings, but they were doing quite well with actions. Feeling Kelly squirm in the sleeping bag he freed her from his embrace and soon they were both laying on their sides facing each other squished in the small space._

 _"I'm glad we went camping." Kelly smiled into the darkness._

 _"Hmm...me too. Honestly I'm still in awe this is something that you enjoy." Dylan confessed._

 _"What's that supposed to mean?" Kelly questioned him._

 _"With all respect, Kel. You don't seem like that type of girl that would pack her bag for the night and head into the wilderness."_

 _The conversation more or less ended there as Kelly remained mum._

 _"Kel?" Dylan asked worried as it was so uncommon for her to not voice her opinion._

 _"Camping always reminds me of family, the one I never had as a child." She let out, the silent tears streaming down her cheeks freely out of his sight._

 _His hand searched for her only to find her cheeks covered in moisture. Almost immediately his arms drew her close to him, his lips pressed on her temple as he pulled her on top of him._

 _"Dylan." She spoke softly after what seemed like eternity._

 _"What is it, Kel?"_

 _"Just promise me that if we somehow someday end up with a child of our own no matter what will happen between us we will not deprive it of all those silly family things."_

 _Dylan smiled into the darkness. "I promise." He whispered kissing her softly, his words were going to sooth her that evening and he was going to make sure that somehow or someday was never going happen._

He was rather sure that his daughter was never deprived of all those silly family things that Kelly and him missed out on while growing up, there was just one person missing through all of them...her father. Picking up his glass he emptied the contents in one long swig, motioning to the barman to bring him another one. He had abstained from alcohol for years, but now that he had to face the reality his old habits were catching up with him quickly. Not to mention the memories that just kept hunting him, another one from six years ago.

 _"Kel? Are you all right in there?" He asked from behind the closed bathroom door._

 _"Yeah. I'll be right out." Came her muffed reply._

 _He sat back on their bed. Their bed, in their bedroom, in their house, it all sounded so surreal. Five short months passed since David and Donna Silver's wedding day. That's how long he and Kelly were a couple and things were moving forward quickly._

 _Hearing the bathroom door open he looked in that direction seeing Kelly walk out dressed in her bathrobe. Just one look and he was up on his feet "What's wrong?" He spoke softly._

 _Her eyes searched for his and her silence made him worried._

 _"I'm pregnant." The words finally came out and he felt the world spinning. He thought he was ready to handle anything, but a child? Pregnancy, messed up hormones, diapers, late night feeds, baby, teething, responsibility, the two of them tied together forever._

 _"It's going to be alright." He let out, taking her into his arms._

 _"Is it?"_

 _"Yes." He confirmed._

 _"No, really..." Kelly shook her head freeing herself from Dylan's embrace and taking a few steps away from him before she turned around looking him directly in the eye. "Can we really do this? Can we raise a child together, Dylan?"_

 _Could they? "Yes, we can."_

 _Nodding Kelly sat down on their bed deep in thought._

 _"Kelly we can do this." He spoke softly resting his hand on her thigh as he joined her. "We can raise this baby together. We can do it better than our own parents did."_

 _He watched her breath in and out before she turned her face to him. "Alright."_

 _"Now smile a little. We're going to be parents, a little piece of you and me is going to rock this world." He grinned._

 _"We are in trouble." She smiled a first real smile that day._

 _"Not for a few more months." Dylan added wrapping his arm around her shoulders and kissing the side of her head. Maybe after what he had been through since Antonia died, maybe it shaped him enough and he could be a father after all._

He was a father, to a five year old that he never met. He came closest to it hours ago, when he was in the same building as his daughter and ex-girlfriend. Now he knew what Kelly was thinking of when she sat down on their bed all those years ago. The one question she never asked...if he was going to stick around...

"Hey!"

His eyes focused on David Silver who stood in front of his table, ending his solitude.

"Can I?" David asked pointing to the free chair across from Dylan. The atmosphere not as friendly as the day before.

"Be my guest." Dylan let out watching as David took the place.

"Some things never change." He noted looking at the empty glass in front of him.

"It's not easy to face the reality. Especially if you've ignored it for too long..." Dylan pushed the glass away from him.

"Yes, Kelly would be excited to hear that."

"Probably as excited as she was when she saw me this afternoon." Dylan noted. The conversation halted when the waitress came with his drink.

"You want something?" He asked David.

"No, thanks." David declined, the waitress leaving their table.

"You can't blame her." David continued as soon as she was out of earshot.

"No and I'm not going to. She on the other hand has enough reasons to blame me." Dylan said calmly.

"I'm not going to argue with that one."

"Good, now that we have this figured out. What do I owe the pleasure?" Dylan asked directly.

"Ava. She's not doing so hot."

"I know, I spoke to Andrea today."

David looked at him surprised.

"Kelly might hate me for what I did, but my name still stands on Ava's birth certificate and there are no legal arrangements made regarding her custody. I have as much right to know about our daughter's health as she does." Dylan explained.

"Must have been a lack of judgment on her site." David uttered.

"Yes."

"I guess my job here is done. See you around." David said standing up from the chair.

"David." He watched as he turned around. "Thanks!"

David nodded. "Don't let her down again." He said before walking away, leaving Dylan alone with his glass and thoughts, a dangerous combination.

* * *

Closing the front door behind her Andrea listened to the muffed voices and laughter coming from the kitchen. She was a firm believer into leaving your work out of your personal life and the presence of the three people that were waiting for her at home always made her do just that, but not in the past few days.

Hanging her coat on the rag she moved further inside the house. Stopping in the doorway to kitchen she watched Brandon preparing the dinner and Isaac helping him, Hannah nowhere in sight. Isaac was the first one to notice her.

"Mommy!" He let out his little face brightening up in an instant. Leaving everything behind he hurried to his mother landing in her embrace seconds later his little arms wrapped around her neck, Andrea buried her face into the crook of his neck breathing in his scent for a moment. Her baby boy was not a baby anymore, he was growing up way too fast.

"I've missed you. Did you have fun at the daycare?" She asked looking at his sweet little face, a perfect mix of both her and Brandon.

"Yes, we were playing on the monkey bars and counting and I drew you a picture. Daddy put it on the fridge." Isaac narrated excitedly looking at his father who nodded in agreement.

"That's right. Looks like we have a future Picasso on our hands, mommy." Brandon grinned turning the stove off and moving forward to give Andrea a welcome home kiss before the three of them moved to the fridge as Isaac was too excited to wait another second.

"It's a beautiful picture." Andrea praised him. "Thank you, Isaac." She kneeled down giving him a kiss on his cheek.

Brandon just smiled watching them for a moment before he moved to finish the table as his son was otherwise occupied.

"Where's Hannah?" He felt Andrea's hands slip around his waist seconds later as the sound of Isaac patting little feet made him aware of his departure.

"Upstairs. She's on the phone with Jessie." Brandon turned around facing his wife.

"I nearly forgot she's going over to his house for the weekend." Andrea rubbed her temples.

"Mhm, we will be left just with this little tornado." Brandon grinned kissing her softly.

"Yes. I'd give anything to have as much energy as he does right now." Andrea chuckled.

"I guess, he's still on sugar high." Brandon noted.

"Again?" Andrea raised her brows.

"We've stopped at the Peach Pit after I picked him up from daycare and Hannah from school. He might or might not had two pieces of chocolate cake."

"Brandon!" Andrea groaned shaking her head. "He won't eat anything for the dinner now."

"Well you know, when he looks at you with those big blue innocent eyes." Brandon shrugged.

"You're a softie." Andrea concluded.

"A softie that made him promise he will eat his veggies tonight." Brandon grinned kissing her again, this time more tenderly his hands holding her firmly against him.

"Leave those for the evening." Andrea whispered grinning sheepishly when they pulled apart hearing Isaac and Hannah's voices.

"Yeah." Brandon agreed moving back to the stove. "Just in time, dinner is ready."

"Good. I'm starving." Hannah said giving her mom a kiss and helping Isaac into his chair.

"When is dad picking you up tomorrow?" Andrea asked serving food on Isaac's plate.

"He is not." Hannah said slowly.

"What do you mean?"

"He was trying to reach you today, but your phone was off so he called me. He and Sandra are leaving for New York tomorrow morning and they will be gone until the middle of next week."

Andrea and Brandon exchanged a quick glance. "I've been barely in my office today. I'll call him after dinner." Andrea said quickly.

"Okay." Hannah said digging into her food.

Andrea and Brandon exchanged another glance. It was not the first time that Jessie had pulled out from a planned weekend in the very last minute, luckily it never seemed to affect Hannah much.

"Did you get the result of your math test today?" Andrea changed the topic.

"Yes." Hannah said with her mouth full. "I got an A." She added once she swallowed her food.

"That's great." Andrea smiled, knowing how much Hannah hated math, she was still rather good at it.

"It is. I still don't like it though." Hannah added.

"I hated math as well." Andrea smiled.

"Yes, and you still managed to be great at it. Makes me wonder where Hannah gets that from." Brandon grinned.

"Must be in the genes." Hannah chuckled.

Brandon smiled before looking at Isaac who was playing with the food on his plate.

"What's wrong champ?" He asked.

"Daddy, I'm not hungry." Isaac said looking at him from under his thick eyelashes. Andrea gave Brandon an amused look.

"No, no, no. We have an agreement, Isaac." Brandon said.

"But, daddy..."

"No, buts'. If you leave your meat and potatoes that's fine, but you have to eat your broccoli and carrots."

"Okay." Isaac sighed taking the broccoli from his plate and biting into it.

Brandon looked at Andrea satisfied that he won this little battle.

Hours later with both kids in their beds Brandon found Andrea pacing up and down their bedroom when he walked out of the shower. It took no genius to figure out it had to do with Jessie as she hasn't been herself since calling him.

"Care to tell me what's going on?" Brandon asked moving to sit on their bed.

"There are moments when I barely understand you guys. Are there some manuals that teach you how to be an asshole or does it come completely naturally?" Andrea continued pacing up and down completely livid.

"Andrea." Brandon said slowly, if he didn't know better he might have got hurt by her words.

"Jessie and Sandra are going to New York because she has an interview there. If the interview goes well and she gets the job they will move there permanently." She dropped on the bed next to Brandon.

"She might not get it." Brandon shrugged.

"It really does not matter if she gets it or not. It's just the idea that Jessie is ready to move across the country leaving his daughter behind that drives me crazy."

"I'm sure he thought about Hannah as well." Brandon said soothingly, although he knew he was probably giving him too much credit.

"Hardly. In his own words, she can come over for the holidays. Even now when they are in the same city he sees her no more than four days a month, it's going to be even less if he moves."

"Maybe it will be for the best."

"Yeah, maybe." Andrea rubbed her face, it seemed like everything was just going downhill lately.

"Andrea, even if Jessie and Sandra leave. We can make this work for Hannah." Brandon assured her.

"I know that Hannah will be fine. Per his own choice he barely sees her anyway. You are the father figure in her life, not Jessie, so this move won't change much in that regard. But he is still her father and just like that he is ready to leave her behind." Andrea knew she was rambling now, but she felt so disappointed.

"We can't force them to stay." Brandon said slipping his arm around her shoulders, a move to New York was out of question for their little family.

"Sometimes I wish I could kick some sense into that guy." Andrea mumbled.

"Luckily he's no longer your problem." Brandon said jokingly.

"Or not such a big problem." Andrea rested her head on his shoulder closing her eyes briefly. Maybe it would be for the best if Jessie would be out of the picture. They could be together as a family all the time.

"Who's the other guy?" Brandon asked remembering that she talked in plural.

"Dylan." Andrea sighed, so much for leaving your work out of your home.

"Dylan!?"

"Yes, he showed up at the hospital today. He was asking about Ava. My first instinct was to kick him where it would hurt him the most, then I figured out that privilege should be left to Kelly." Andrea opened her eyes looking at her husband who sat there stunned.

"Dylan's back in town?" Brandon asked in disbelief.

"Yes." Andrea confirmed again.

Without any other word Brandon stood up pacing the bedroom. This couldn't be happening, not now. Although in hindsight this was just so typical of McKay, show up at the worst time.

"Brandon?"

He looked at his wife. This time was as good as any other to tell her about their little encounter at Bahamas.

"I met him in the Bahamas." Brandon confessed sitting back down to his wife.

"You haven't said a word." The surprise audible in Andrea's voice.

"With everything else that is going on, I figured it was not the best of times and I never attached much importance to it."

"Alright. What happened?" Andrea asked pushing herself back on their bed and crossing her legs.

"I gave him a piece of my mind." Brandon admitted.

"Brandon!" Andrea groaned.

"What? Someone had to." Brandon shrugged.

"Someone, means Kelly. Not you." Andrea rolled her eyes.

"Right. Just remind me. Who wanted to kick him where it would hurt him the most today?"

"Okay. I guess we're all protective of them." Andrea sighed, she couldn't win this one.

"I left him a picture of Kelly and Ava as a reminder of what he left behind." Brandon admitted feeling guilty.

"I guess it worked. He is back." Andrea sighed not at all surprised that he carried such a picture with him.

"Yes. If I knew what was happening at home I'd have never done that. Dylan back in town is the last thing Kelly needs right now."

Andrea shook her head. "We have no idea what Kelly needs right now and knowing her, she's not going to tell us."


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Kelly hurried through the entry hall. She got held up at the hospital and was now running late for the meeting with her lawyer. Reaching the elevators she was glad to find one waiting for her. During the short ride to the fifth floor she checked herself in the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed, but otherwise everything looked as it should be. She pushed a strand of her long blond hair behind her ear just as the elevator stopped on the fifth floor.

Walking outside she headed directly to the receptionist desk.

"Good afternoon! How can I help you?" A middle aged dark haired woman asked her a bright smile on her face.

"Good afternoon! I had an appointment with Mr. Rogers at 2 pm." Kelly's eyes drifted to the clock on the wall behind the secretary the watch hands showing 2:15 pm.

The secretary quickly typed something into the computer before looking back at Kelly. "I'm sorry madam, Mr. Rogers is running late with his previous appointment. Would you be so kind and take a seat in the waiting area? I'll let you know as soon as he is free."

"Sure." Kelly replied moving into the waiting area and sitting down at the black leather sofa. She had known Greg for years, in the past he helped Jackie with a few legal issues and even if it was not his area of specialization did some law guidance for her while she was running her PR firm, but she hasn't seen him for the past two years. There was no reason to, not until Dylan showed back in town.

This meeting was long overdue thought. All those years back, right after Dylan disappeared shortly before their daughter was born and she had no idea for how long and where to, it felt just natural to put his name on Ava's birth certificate. As the weeks and months were passing and he was still nowhere to see Jackie started pressuring her into taking some legal action and get Ava's custody sorted. At that time she saw no reason to go through the hassle. He was gone after all, as it turned out her mother was right. Boy did she hate it when her mother was right.

"Miss Taylor?" The secretary pulled her out of her thoughts. "Mr. Rogers is awaiting you."

"Thank you." Kelly grabbed her purse and followed her into his office.

"Miss Taylor!" Greg smiled as soon as he spotted her. "Long time no see." He kissed both of her cheeks.

"Hello Greg! Good to see you again." Kelly countered.

"How are you?" Greg asked leading her to the seating area in the corner of the office.

"Good, given the circumstances." Kelly smiled softly. "How's Lisa and the kids?"

"They are all great." Greg smiled. "Coffee or tea?" He asked.

"No, thanks."

He waived the secretary off. "So, how can I help you?" Greg asked as soon as they were left alone.

"I'd like to get my daughters custody sorted." Kelly replied. Saying the words out loud felt bittersweet. While Dylan was gone she did everything to keep Ava somehow connected to her father. Now that he was back, the first thing she wanted to do was to keep him out of her life.

"Sorted in what way?" Greg asked, intrigued. He heard some tidbits from Jackie but wasn't familiar with the whole story.

"I want her full physical and legal custody." Kelly replied.

"Alright. What is the current arrangement between you and Ava's father?"

"We have none. He left before Ava was born. She never met him." Kelly explained.

"How old is she again?"

"Five."

"That's a long time." Greg noted, scribbling down a few notes. "Had he ever shown any interest in his daughter? Phone calls, letters?"

Kelly remained mum for a moment, making Greg look up from his notepad. "He is sending me money. The first check came shortly after she was born and then was followed by another one each month. I never used a cent, they go directly into Ava's trust."

Greg wrinkled his forehead before writing down a few words again.

"Is that a problem?" Kelly asked worried by his reaction.

"No. Not really, but it does complicate things." Greg admitted.

"How?"

"If there was no contact, we would have a clear case. If he is sending you let's call it child allowance, he is showing interest in his child." Greg explained.

"In the short five years of her life he had never met her. How can money be seen as showing interest in your child?" Kelly asked appealed.

"Kelly I'm not saying it's right and I'm also not saying it's something that might stop the court from granting you a full physical and legal custody of your daughter." Greg tried to calm her down.

"I'm sorry, I've been stressed out lately with everything that is going on. Ava's been in hospital for the past few days and as it turned out will be for another while and her father just showed up in town after years. She's not ready to meet him now." Kelly said nervously.

"And neither are you." Greg noted a few more things becoming clear upon hearing Kelly's words. "I'll say this not as your lawyer, but as your friend Kelly. I do understand that you're trying to protect your daughter and you in what seems to be a very vulnerable time, but why don't you give this a few more days? Let everything sink in and go through your head once again. If you still feel the need to take any legal steps in regard of your daughter's custody, I'll be here ready to fight for you two in the court."

She wanted to reply briskly and tell him she already made up her mind, but who was she fooling? The decision she made was done in a spur of the moment after seeing Dylan the previous day. It seemed like an easy way to keep him as far away as possible while she had to concentrate on their daughter. "Alright." She said finally.

"Good." Greg said satisfied with her reply. "Give me a call later in the week and let me know how you've decided."

"Thank you, Greg." Kelly said quickly before the two of them parted their ways.

* * *

"You think I'm in the wrong here as well." Kelly's eyes were on Donna. After returning back to hospital minutes ago and finding Ava asleep, she just finished telling her all the news from meeting with her lawyer.

"No, I've never said that." Donna said quietly as they were both trying not to wake up Ava. "I just agree with Greg that you should give it another thought before you make a final decision."

"Great." Kelly mumbled staring blankly in front of her. For years everyone was voicing their opinion, telling her what was best for her and Ava and pushing her into taking a final decision. Now when she made a decision, it was not good enough either.

"Kelly." Donna said soothingly trying to catch her attention again as she blanked off. "I know this is not what you wanted to hear. But ever since the day Dylan left you, you've been fighting tooth and nails for him. You came to rift with your mother because you were not going to do anything to cut him out of your daughter's life in case he returned. You've fought with all of us when we've voiced our negative opinion on him. Now when he is back, you just want to do the complete opposite? This is not like you."

Kelly looked away for a brief moment. Donna was right, it was not like her. "Seeing him again the other day... I'm scared." She looked back at her best friend.

"Scared of what?" Donna asked softly.

"My feelings. The fact that even after everything he had done I can't hate him." Kelly admitted.

"That's alright."

"No, it's not." Kelly opposed. "He left me, he left his daughter and the first time I see him standing in front of me, I feel the same attraction as years before. I just can't let him in again and pretend that the past five years never happened."

Donna smiled softly while shaking her head slightly. "Kelly, it's completely fine not to feel hater towards Dylan. No one can tell you how you should feel about him, not me, not David, Brandon, your mother or anyone else."

"I've always wished for him to return and for Ava to have a father. But he couldn't pick a worse time. It is hard enough to come to terms with Ava's disease and what she has to go through to hopefully get better in the end, I can't handle Dylan back in town as well." Kelly's voice trailed off.

* * *

"Brandon, can you come to my office?" It was Friday afternoon just hours left before the weekend and Jeff his boss stopped by his cubicle.

"Sure." Brandon replied letting his work be and following his boss.

"Look." Jeff said as soon as the door closed behind them. "I know this is very last minute request and I would understand if you say no but I need someone to fly over to New York tomorrow morning and cover the UN summit on human trafficking for us."

"Jeff..." Brandon gazed away for a moment. After Jessie bailed on Hannah the previous evening, he and Andrea planned a fun filled weekend for the kids, beach, picnic, some well deserved family time for all of them on Saturday and a relaxed barbecue with their friends on Sunday.

"I do understand that you have a family Brandon and I wouldn't ask you if I had anyone else to cover it." Jeff said pleadingly.

It looked that once again Brandon had no other choice, just to say yes. There were rumors going around the newspaper that an executive editor position was going to become vacant in the next few months. Brandon wanted it, badly. His chances were good, but every little thing could matter when the time will come, even saying no to this request. He finally gave in. "Alright, I'll fly there tomorrow."

"Thank you, million times." Jeff breathed out relieved.

"No problem, Jeff." Brandon replied, his mind already in overdrive. Andrea was going to kick his sorry ass as soon as he'll tell her about this trip.

"Tina from HR will hand you the itinerary and reservations before you leave today and I'll send you some details what we need to focus on later today so you can find them in your mailbox tomorrow."

"Sounds good." Brandon confirmed.

"Thanks again." Jeff said shaking his hand, clear sign that this discussion was over. Walking outside, the door closing behind him again Brandon stopped breathing out. How was he going to share this with Andrea and the kids? Hannah and Isaac were so excited when they told them over the breakfast. Now they had to cancel everything.

He moved forward. Reaching his desk he saw the screen of his cell phone lightened up, Andrea's name on the caller ID.

"Hey hon." Brandon said taking the call.

"I don't think I'll be able to get out of here before 5 pm." He sat down into his chair listening to his wife.

"Yes, call Maria and let her know. I'll see you at home." A smile flashed through his lips.

"You too. Bye." He sat the phone back on his desk massaging his temples.

* * *

When Brandon arrived home that day it was already close to 7 pm. Finishing the article he was working on took way longer than he expected, but he would have still made it on time if Jeff haven't decided to go through the details of his trip in person. Closing the front door behind him he felt beaten.

"No, I don't want to!" He could hear Isaac scream from the kitchen.

"Isaac, you have to eat it!" Andrea's calm but stern reply made him move further into the house without delay.

"I hate you!" Isaac screamed back. Coming to the doorway Brandon could see the tears on his son's cheeks and Andrea close to losing it.

"Isaac Dean, this is not how you are going to talk to your mom!" Brandon said, both Isaac and Andrea looking in his direction surprised as neither heard him coming.

The little boy pouted his lower lip, staring stubbornly into his plate that was untouched. Moving forward Brandon quickly kissed Andrea. "Are you okay?" He mouthed and watched as she nodded in reply. "Where's Hannah?"

"She's having sleep over at Natalie's place."

Brandon smiled briefly before he moved towards his son placing a kiss on the crown of his head and sitting down next to him. "Eat your dinner, Isaac."

"I don't like broccoli." The little boy said, still stubbornly staring into his plate. "Alright, you can leave your broccoli, but you have to eat everything else." This was the deal with their son. Ever since they started him on solids he had been a picky eater and what he liked or tolerated one day he hated the next one. Brandon placed his finger under Isaac's chin making him look at him before he spoke again. "And you have to apologize to your mother. It's not nice to scream at anyone, we won't tolerate it."

Isaac nodded softly, before he slid down from his chair heading to his mom. "I'm sorry mommy. I love you." He said climbing into Andrea's lap and wrapping his little arms around her neck.

Andrea placed a hand on his back holding him close for briefly. "I love you too." She smiled softly. "Next time we can discuss it without screaming and hissy fits." She kissed his forehead.

Isaac nodded before he climbed down from her lap and back into his chair finally digging into his food. Andrea raised her brows looking at Brandon above their son's head. Brandon just shrugged in reply grabbing his plate and serving some food to himself.

About two hours later with Isaac in bed Andrea and Brandon were just finishing the dishes when the conversation turned to their weekend plans.

"What time do you want to leave for the beach tomorrow?" Andrea asked placing the last of the plates on the counter and moving the pile of them into the cupboard her back facing Brandon. When no reply came she turned around. "Brandon?"

"There is something I have to tell you..." Brandon sighed. He was dreading this conversation ever since he said yes to Jeff.

"Not again your work." Andrea mumbled crossing her arms in front of her.

"I have to fly to New York tomorrow morning."

"Great." She turned her back again to him cleaning some not existing crumbs from the counter.

"Andrea..." Brandon said softly placing his hands on her shoulders rubbing them gently.

"What do you want me to say? That our kids won't mind?" She asked shrugging of his hands and turning around.

"No." Brandon moved towards the breakfast aisle, giving her some space.

"I know they'll be disappointed that we have to cancel our plans, but this is a great chance."

"Another great chance." Andrea rolled her eyes taking the kitchen towel from the counter and hanging it back in place. "You say that line awfully lot."

"I thought we were clear when it comes to our careers." Brandon raised his brow.

"I thought we were clear when it comes to our family." Andrea countered.

"That's not fair, Andrea."

"Neither is tucking your three year old in bed promising him you'll have a great time tomorrow if you already know tomorrow is not going to happen."

"He was already upset during the dinner, what was I supposed to tell him?"

"The truth." Andrea looked at him intently. Seeing the lack of reaction from Brandon she just shook her head. "I'm going to bed, it's been a long day." With that she left the kitchen.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Dylan stared into the space lost in his thoughts. Ever since he returned all he could think about was Kelly and Ava. He spoke to Andrea the other day and roughly knew what was going on. But he still felt helpless knowing that Kelly was not going to let him in and for Ava he was just a stranger. Despite the popular belief after everything he missed he would have loved to be there for them.

"Mr. McKay?" A grey haired man in dark clothing stopped in front of his table at the corner booth of Peach Pit. Raising his eyes Dylan nodded briefly observing the stranger in front of him.

"I'm Lyle Stephens from Stephen's security." He introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you." Dylan stood up shaking the guys hand. He was surprised that the owner himself showed up for the meeting.

"Nice to meet you too. I told myself that after the past five years I should be the first one to meet the mysterious Mr. McKay." He said as the two sat down. Lyle setting a black case on the table in front of him.

"Curious. I like that." Dylan noted, in hindsight it was not so surprising.

"It's not every day that we receive a request like yours and have no chance to consult it in person, for several years." Lyle agreed.

"I imagine it's not a standard procedure, but before we start I have to say I've been really pleased with your services over the years."

"I'm happy to hear that." Lyle opened the black case taking out a two sheets of paper. "We've already notified you separately, but this is the complete list of incidents that breached Miss Taylor's and her child's security in the past five years." He placed them in front of Dylan. "As you can see there are not many and even the few mentioned ones are very minor and not related. Nothing that would raise any concern."

Dylan was prepared to hear those exact words, but it was not why he insisted on this meeting. "How about the last week? Have you noticed any uncommon activity regarding the other persons I named?"

"Depends how would you classify uncommon activity in regards of people with a criminal record like theirs." Lyle replied. "We have noticed more buzz than usual in the past few days, but so far nothing that would concern us."

"Good."

"We have constantly at least two people taking care of Miss Taylor's and her child's security."

"Even now in hospital?" Dylan interrupted him.

"Yes, even now in hospital. It's not easy, but we do provide the best service for our customers in all situations and environments." Lyle replied.

"Alright. If there is anything new, any concerns. Please let me know immediately. I'll be in town."

"Sure. You'll be the first one to know." Lyle confirmed taking the papers and placing them back into the case.

"Thank you for meeting me here on short notice. Please do understand that the security of Kelly and Ava is my highest priority." Dylan said.

"Yes, sir. We do our best to keep them safe." Lyle confirmed as the two shook hands.

"Thanks." Dropping down in his seat he watched as the gray haired man walked out of the door. The buzz that Lyle mentioned was to be expected if they heard about his return to town and he made it no secret that he was back.

"Turkey, rye and coleslaw." Nat narrated setting a plate in front of Dylan.

"Thank you, Nat." Dylan said focusing on the man in front of him.

"Who was that?" Nat asked.

"A friend of mine." Dylan replied digging into his food. He was not in a mood to talk. Knowing Dylan and his moods for years Nat just nodded and left him alone. Taking a few bites Dylan concluded that not even Nat's food was going to solve the loss of appetite that he had been experiencing lately.

Pushing the plate away from him he let himself go down the memory lane again. This time to their last night together over five years ago.

 _Killing the engine Dylan remained seated in his car. Even with the rain pouring down he could see the light was still on inside despite the late hour. He was sure Kelly fell asleep on the sofa with the TV on and was therefore in no hurry to head inside._

 _Reaching to the passenger seat he picked up an envelope pulling out a single sheet of paper. For the millionth time that day he read through the few sentences. The first time he read those particular words he considered them a bad joke. The second time, made him wonder why now? By the third time he was worried and called one of his old friends and asked him to do a little research. When he read the letter for the fourth time, he already knew that every single word written there was going to come true. If he didn't do something._

 _What did "something" mean? Dylan closed his eyes briefly, he knew too good the meaning of the word. If someone claims they will hurt the most precious person in your life, in order to save them the only thing you can do is let them go. Opening his eyes and staring at the house in front of him he gulped down. Was he strong enough to let Kelly and their child go? It wouldn't be the first time to leave without looking back, but this time the circumstances were very different._

 _He folded the letter neatly, hesitating for a moment he threw it back on the seat. Opening the front door almost noiselessly seconds later he spotted Kelly asleep on the sofa in front of the TV, just as he expected. Moving further into the room, he picked up the white fluffy blanket from the floor placing it on the armchair. Kelly must have kicked it off in her sleep. Sitting down he let his hand slip on her prominent belly, his lips pressed against hers for a moment._

 _Straightening up he watched as she stirred and blinked a few times before her eyes opened and focused on him._

 _"Hey!" She smiled softly."I've been waiting for you."_

 _"Right." He raised his eyebrow the typical smirk on the face. "I bet you were watching Friends and fell asleep half-way through the episode."_

 _Kelly grinned stretching slightly. "You would win every time you bet on that."_

 _"I know. I would also win every time I'd bet that your back is killing you right now." He leaned forward placing another kiss on her lips. He wanted to remember this, her kisses. The feeling of her soft lips against his. Her taste._

 _"True, as well. But I'm sure you'll make it better before I'll fall asleep again." She smiled at him sweetly her eyes on him. He knew that look._

 _"You're not tired?" He placed a few chaste kisses on her lips before his lips trailed down her neck._

 _"For you? Never." Kelly breathed out as he pressed his lips on the nape of her neck finding her special spot easily._

 _"Good."_

 _"But we better move this to the bed." Kelly let out trying to catch her breath while she pushed him slightly away. "This thing makes it pretty darn impossible to go for it anywhere else." She pointed to her belly._

 _"Your wish is my command." Dylan grinned taking her hand and helping her up from the sofa._

 _Kelly giggled as he placed his hand on the small of her back guiding her towards their bedroom._

 _An hour later Dylan laid awake in their bed. He could hear Kelly's steady breathing as she slept. Her naked back resting against his chest, his hand on her belly he felt their baby move. The question he gave himself back in the car was still haunting him. Could he do that? Could he leave them?_

 _He closed his eyes briefly before he shuffled slightly burying his face into Kelly's hair, breathing in her scent. Another thing he wanted to remember. The time was ticking and he couldn't bring himself to do the inevitable._

 _After another half an hour he finally moved away from her and out of the bed they've been sharing for the past year. He got dressed quickly before he moved around the house noiselessly gathering the things he would take with him. Kelly would take care about the rest of his possessions. Maybe not straight away, but after a few months, after she'll give up on him. Taking one last look at her sleeping form he finally stepped outside into the pouring rain. Leaving her life for what he thought at that time was going to be forever._

Returning to reality Dylan focused on the room in front of him. This used to be one of their favorite places. Now all those memories of the happier times were downing on him. He had to get out of there and quickly. Paying the bill at the counter he did just that, wowing himself to stay away from there for some time.

* * *

"I love you daddy." Brandon smiled upon hearing his sons words over the phone.

"I love you too champ. Now let me talk to your mommy." Brandon said to his son, but instead of Andrea's voice came a beeping tone as she ended the call. He knew too good it wasn't by accident, she was still mad at him.

Shaking his head he slid the phone into his pocket and walked out of his hotel room. He was hungry and for once in need of something stronger after the dinner before he will retire to his hotel room for the night. After the latest fight he was in the dog house with his wife and spent the night before his departure to New York on the couch in the living room. That damn thing was so uncomfortable. As his thoughts crept back to Andrea, he kept wondering what angered her further, the fact that he cancelled the weekend plans due to work once again or the fact that he did not arrive to their bedroom that night.

Arriving to the hotel restaurant he quickly ordered his food. He and Andrea rarely fought about anything. He always marveled on that fact and attributed it to being very good friends before they became a couple. They knew each other and what to expect from the other one and they also knew what they were getting themselves into when they started dating nearly five years ago.

Tapping his fingers against the table he let his mind wander into the past while he waited for his food. His stunt in Washington turned to be rather short lived, well three years were not exactly a short time, but when he was leaving Los Angeles he intended to build his career and life there and never return. That was before the newspaper hit its all time low and he was among the first one sacked and before he found out that his formed best friend pulled another one of his stunts and left his pregnant girlfriend a calling card. Those two reasons were good enough for him to say goodbye to the nation's capital and return home.

While his career benefited from that turn of fate and he was hired by Los Angeles Times almost immediately, his private life was another story. Seeing Kelly crushed for months after Ava was born made it clear where her heart belonged. He was not going to mess with that and out of respect for her and his formed best friend, he never mentioned the major crush he still had on her silently licked his wounds before he moved on, with Andrea.

The twists of life can be unpredictable and this turned to be one of them. There was a time when Andrea has been his best friend, his mentor, his sanctuary, and he never in his wildest dreams expected them to cross the line and move their friendship to the next level. One day it just happened, out of blue. It wasn't a great love story, but he cared about her a lot, there was also attraction but most of all the relationship felt good, pretty darn good.

The rest came all naturally, engagement, wedding, then Isaac not even a year later completed their happiness. That was over three years ago. They've been living in their happy bubble ever since, both with well established careers and kids growing up and making them proud. They had their friends around and the group, or rather what was left of it, was growing closer as they experienced the transitions in their lives.

The trail of his thoughts was interrupted when the waitress arrived with his food. He thanked her politely and dug into his dinner his mind wandering again.

Maybe things were too good and life too smooth in the past years and everything that happened in the past days was a reminder that life was not supposed to be easy. First he bumped into Dylan in Bahamas, the last place where he expected to meet hin after all that time, than came Ava's disease which left Kelly worried sick and Andrea stressed out, even if she was not ready to admit it. Dylan's return, Jesse's strange behavior, his demanding job, it all was leaving stains on his and Andrea's relationship. He sighed setting the cutlery on the plate, the food only half eaten, but his appetite lost. Paying the bill he moved to the hotel bar ordering a glass of bourbon.

He was by his second one when a familiar voice interrupted what he expected to be his downward spiral evening.

"Brandon?" Looking up he saw Jesse standing there.

"Jesse." Brandon replied standing up, the two men shaking their hands.

"What are you doing here?" Jesse asked.

"Work." There were no other words needed and Jesse nodded knowingly.

"Where's Sandra?" Brandon asked nonchalantly.

"Upstairs. She was tired. Can I?"

"Sure, be my guest." Brandon replied sitting back down. Silence setting in for a moment.

"So. How did the interview go?"

"Good. She had a very good feeling about it." Jesse smiled not for a second surprised that Brandon knew about the nature of their trip.

Brandon nodded. "And what about Hannah?" His searching eyes watching Jesse seeing as the smile fell off his face. Ever since Isaac entered his life he couldn't imagine just walking away from his child.

"What about her? She was fine when we talked two days ago." Jesse shrugged.

"How does it feel leaving your daughter behind?" Brandon asked, the bourbon giving him more boldness and rage than he usually had.

"Brandon." Jesse said slowly, he knew this conversation was coming, but still he was not ready to have t yet and definitely not with his ex's current husband. "She'll be better off with Andrea and you." He admitted after Brandon gave him no other choice.

"How do you know, she'll be better off without her father?" Brandon pushed.

"She does not need me in her life, we barely see each other anyway. You are the father figure in her life." Jesse explained.

"That's sadly true. But it does not have to be that way." Brandon opposed. While he loved Hannah as his own, he was fully aware that he was not her father.

"Look. On contrary of what you and Andrea might think, I do love my daughter. I love her enough to let her go. She needs a family, stability and love, that's what you and Andrea are giving her."

"Bullshit." Brandon looked him straight in the eye. Not buying a word Jesse said.

"You might think so, but it's the truth and it's easier this way for everyone involved."

"Maybe it's easier for you and Sandra, but definitely not for Hannah. You are her family as well."

"Maybe not for too long."

"What do you mean?"

Jesse looked away for a brief moment before he spoke again. "When you and Andrea got married I was hoping that one day you'll adopt Hannah that's the reason why I've stayed out of the way. She has a brother whom she adores and a set of parents, adoption would just seal the deal."

"What?" Brandon asked unable to believe what he just heard.

"If you could talk to Andrea about it..." Jesse started.

"Wow, wow, wow...that's not going to happen Jesse. If you want to get out of the deal, you have to talk to Andrea yourself. I'll take care of Hannah as if she was my own, but I'm not going to be the one who'll prepare the way for you to leave your daughter's life." Brandon said quickly, downing his second glass of bourbon. "I guess I've heard enough this evening. I'll see you around."

With that Brandon got up pretty sure there was another sleepless night in front of him. No amount of alcohol could make him forget what he just heard or numb the anger and injustice he just felt.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Pushing the door open the first thing Andrea heard were sobs of a little girl followed by the sound of throwing up, the later one made her pause momentarily. Seeing the little ones unwell was part of her job and most of the time sights like this were leaving her cool. This case was different. This little girl was different, she knew her too good and yet she had to keep her distance. She just had to! It was admittedly getting harder.

Breathing in she pushed the door open. Once inside she took in the sight in front of her. Ava in tears and Kelly leaning above her daughter trying to calm her down, her resolution was cracking.

„No change." Andrea stated the obvious watching as both Kelly and the nurse that was in with them shook their heads in reply. Ava's sobs becoming louder. The first round of chemo was usually the worst.

"Has she managed to get any fluids in?" Andrea asked.

"No." Kelly said looking up at Andrea. It was hard to miss that she was tired and stressed but there were other pressing issues on hand and Andrea turned to the nurse.

"Helen, we will start with the fluids in the IV and change the nausea medication as well." Andrea wrote down the prescription and handed it to the nurse, who left the room subsequently to get everything.

"The nausea will be gone soon." She spoke to Ava, who moved to her mother's lap in the meantime and her sobs quieted a little.

"You promise?" Ava asked quietly her eyes still glassy.

"I do." Andrea brushed the back of her hand over her cheek. "Do you want to watch some Dora the Explorer?"

Ava nodded in reply, her pale face brightening up a little. She loved Dora and Andrea knew it will be a good distraction for the little one. "A dose of Dora coming your way as well."

"Thank you." Ava smiled softly.

Kelly gave Andrea a grateful smile as well which was quickly gone when another wave of nausea set in for Ava and she had to concentrate on her daughter again.

It took another hour and half before they got the nausea under the control. Andrea came to check on them regularly in between her other patients and was satisfied when she finally found Ava asleep. Checking on the little one, she motioned to Kelly to head outside with her.

"Is something wrong?" Kelly asked as soon as the door closed behind her, trying hard to suppress the panic she was feeling.

"No. I'm taking my break now and you look like you could use a cup of coffee as well." Andrea smiled watching as Kelly breathed out in relief. Before she looked back at the closed door. "She'll be fine there for fifteen minutes." Andrea added fully aware about the conflicting thoughts that were crossing Kelly's mind.

"Yes, you're right. She'll be fine." Kelly agreed, turning her head away from the door and heading to the cafeteria with Andrea.

Grabbing their coffees they sat down to one of the many free tables in the nearly empty room, by far the most depressing room in the building.

"Mhm, it's good." Kelly let out after taking a sip from her cup and getting as comfortable as possible in the uncomfortable plastic chair.

"Come on, Kel. It's awful." Andrea smiled setting her cup on the table.

"Well, that might be true, but it's the best I can get around here." Kelly countered.

"True." Andrea remained silent for a moment. Over the years through the twists and turns of fate she and Kelly became close friends, but she still wondered if what she was about to say to her was not going to push their friendship too much.

"Kelly, there is something else I want to talk about." Andrea let out finally, Kelly's eyes on her in instant and the panic returning. "Look I'm not going to pretend that I know perfectly well what is it to be on the other side, how you should feel when you watch your daughter going through the treatments. But you need to start taking care of yourself, if you sit there with Ava the whole day, stressed and high strung, it's not going to help her." Andrea finished.

"No, you really have no idea what it feels like." Kelly snapped, her eyes drifting off to distance. She knew Andrea meant well, but her words were cutting like a knife. "I'm the only family she has, I can't just leave her and go and take care of myself." Kelly replied stubbornly.

"I'm not telling you to leave her here and never return again. I understand you want to be close to Ava and that's good, you are her mom and she needs you now more than ever. Just tell me, how many times have you left her site since she got admitted to hospital?" Andrea asked.

"Twice." Kelly mumbled quietly.

Andrea shook her head. "Pushing yourself until you burn out is not going to help her. She needs her mom in her full strength, physical and mental."

Kelly breathed in, Andrea was right she has been a wreck ever since Ava was admitted to hospital, then came the Dylan sighting which stressed her even further. She run her fingers through her hair nervously. She really couldn't go like this much longer. "I'm sorry."

"That's fine." Andrea smiled softly. "Just promise me, you'll venture into the civilization from time to time to come to different thoughts. Even if it's just for a few minutes."

"I promise." Kelly replied. "Now that I think of it, I should head home later today and check on the mail, throw in a load of laundry and bring some clean clothes for Ava."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Thank you, Andrea." Kelly said sincerely.

"That's what friends are for." Andrea smiled gulping down the last of her coffee.

* * *

Getting out of her car Kelly was not surprised to see him waiting for her. He could never take no for an answer, not when he was together with Brenda or at the time when she was dating Brandon or Matt. Why should he listen to her now? Shutting the car door she moved towards the house as slowly as she could trying to delay the encounter finally stopping few feet away from him her arms crossed over her chest. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to you." Dylan spoke standing up from the stairs he had occupied previously.

Kelly shook her head. "What makes you think I've any desire to talk to you?"

"We're linked for life." He let out, the famous smirk adorning his face. The same smirk that used to make her weak in her knees, but not any longer.

"If we're as you say linked for life. Just remind me. Where the hell have you been the past five years of your daughter's life?" Kelly let out in annoyance.

"Traveling." Dylan shrugged, his calmness only angering Kelly further.

"Yes, as always when everything gets too intense for you." She rolled her eyes. She had enough, this was only another reminder that her mother has been right all those years, she should have cut him out of their life or better never trusted him at all. Letting out a frustrated sigh she moved forward with every intention to walk past him and into her house.

"Kelly, wait." Dylan grabbed her arm, stopping her after a few steps. "I'm sorry."

"You may be, but you're still five years too late." She spoke softly as her eyes met his. The pain he could see floored him momentarily and he let go of her arm.

The rest happened in hurry, gun shots ringing through the quiet neighborhood and Dylan launching himself at Kelly to protect her.

* * *

The front door closed behind Brandon with a silent thud, after three long days in New York he was finally back home. As on cue he could hear the patting of feet and not even five seconds later Isaac has launched himself into his father's arms. It was a good thing his son had short attention span.

"Daddy, I have missed you." The little boy shrieked excitedly wrapping his arms around Brandon's neck.

"I've missed you too champ. Have you been a good boy for your mommy?" He asked pressing a quick kiss on Isaac's cheek. The little boy nodding enthusiastically.

"Good. Where's your mommy and sister?" Brandon asked setting Isaac back on the floor.

"Mommy's cooking dinner and Hannah's on the phone upstairs." Isaac narrated. "Can we play with trains daddy?" Isaac looked at him with his big blue eyes that Brandon found really hard to say no to.

"How about you go and get the trains ready in the family room and I'll quickly say hello to mommy and Hannah?"

"Okay." With that Isaac was gone as quickly as he came and Brandon moved towards the kitchen, not sure what awaited him there. Andrea refused to talk to him ever since their fight three nights ago and he held little to no faith that she would miraculously forgive him.

"Hey!" He greeted her from the doorway.

"Hi!" Andrea replied coldly, looking up briefly from the board where she was cutting some vegetables but quickly returned back to what she was doing completely ignoring her husband.

Brandon sighed softly, he felt like idiot standing there so he just left the room not really caring if it would anger her any further. Grabbing his bag from the entry hall he moved upstairs, saying quick hello to Hannah before he returned back downstairs and played with Isaac until it was dinner time.

The dinner followed in similar torturing fashion as his and Andrea's greeting and it wasn't until an hour after dinner that the two adults found themselves alone. Hannah was in her room finishing her homework, Brandon had just tucked Isaac to bed and Andrea was cleaning the kitchen and getting the kids lunches for next day ready.

"Are you ever going to talk to me again?" Brandon asked directly leaning against the counter his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"No, I'm still mad at you." Came her quick answer her back facing him.

"Andrea." Brandon moved forward resting his hands on her shoulders that were slumped down.

"Let go off me." Andrea said through gritted teeth.

"Fine." Brandon returned to his previous place. "So this is it? We are done because I traveled away for three days?" Brandon asked.

"You don't get it? This has nothing to do with New York." She turned around, her voice continuously raising with every word.

"Then explain it to me please, because I'm really not getting it." Brandon was losing his patience as well.

"Do you know that Isaac was supposed to be in his room until dinner? Maria had to pick him up from daycare earlier because he bit other kid. You come home and suddenly he is downstairs playing with his daddy like nothing happened. How are we supposed to teach this kid that negative actions do have consequences?" Andrea said her voice trembling with anger.

"How the hell was I supposed to know this? I was not at home."

"That's the point. You are never at home...New York, Bahamas or some other place. You spend more time on the plane than you do with your family."

"That's not fair, Andrea. You knew how my life rolled on way before Isaac came along." Brandon replied sharply.

"Yes, I know that. Having a child changed nothing for you?" She questioned him.

"What's that for a question? Of course it did, having Isaac in my life changed everything. But what do you expect me to do? Give up my career because we do have a kid? That does not seem fair especially since you're not that kind of mother who would do that. We both have careers that are time consuming and we both love them, I don't understand why I'm suddenly singled out as the bad guy." Brandon was yelling now as well.

"He needs you and you are never around."

"He needs you too and you aren't around that much either." Brandon spat back before storming out of the room in furry the front door closing behind him loudly seconds later.

"And I need you around too." Andrea whispered to no one, sliding down to the floor the tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The gun shots still echoed in his ears, his eyes shut tight and his breathing uneven as the adrenalin rushed through his veins. Grabbing Kelly seconds earlier and pushing her down, shielding her with his body, was a natural reaction. He had no time to think. Now when he heard a car speeding away all he could think about was, what would have happened if he wasn't there? His skin prickled with goose bumps and his eyes flew open meeting hers.

"Are you okay?" The words barely made it out, his throat tight from anxiety. He could have lost her seconds ago.

"Yeah." Kelly nodded her eyes wide open, still in shock.

Dylan pushed himself up. Not that he wanted to as it was the closest the two of them have been since he left over five years ago, but he knew her rather well. Whatever numb state she was in currently was going to be short-lived and she was going to have a few questions for him, questions that he should have answered already some five and half years ago. He let out a barely audible sight before shifting his focus back to Kelly who was still on the ground.

He outstretched his hand helping her up before he brushed the dirt off his knees. Just in time to see a car pull in and two guys jumping out and running in their direction. He felt his blood boiling again and immediately moved towards them.

"Where the hell have you been? You are supposed to keep them safe." He fired meeting them halfway. What he didn't count on was equally livid Kelly following him.

"Dylan what's going on?" He heard her voice from behind him before any of the guys had a chance to reply.

"Not here, Kel." He turned around and was met with Kelly's furious stare.

"There was just someone shooting at us in my front yard so don't tell me where the hell we are supposed to have this conversation." Her voice was rising with every word.

He closed his eyes briefly, millions of thoughts twirling through his head. "At you." He said finally, opening his eyes and narrowing them on her.

"What?"

"They were shooting at you." He repeated slowly, watching as all color drained from her face. For a moment he was sure she was going to pass out.

"Why?" The question barely made it out.

He looked at the two guys that were helplessly standing there. They really did not need an audience for this. "Can we please move this inside? I promise I'd answer any question you'll have, just not here." His eyes pleaded with her.

"Okay." She gave in finally and turning around headed towards the house. Dylan gave the guys from the security one more _"we are not done yet"_ look, before he followed her, catching up with her at the front door.

It felt weird standing there after all those years. After he left, he thought she'd move somewhere else, the house held too many memories of their time together. He should have known better, those damn memories were what kept her in there; she had always been a sentimental creature. Moving inside he saw the living area has been redecorated, it really had Kelly's touch now, not that the old one didn't, but it was more of a compromise between them.

"I'm sorry, I haven't spent much time here in the last days." She said apologetically picking up a few jumpers from the sofa, her voice once again pulling him out of his thoughts.

"That's understandable, with everything that's going on with Ava." He mumbled taking a better look at the room. His eyes stopped abruptly at a shelf decorated with a bunch of photos of Kelly and their daughter, reminding him what he decided to give up all those years ago.

Kelly stopped mid-action looking at him once he mentioned Ava's name. "Is that why you came back?" She questioned him directly.

"No. I didn't even know we had a daughter, until..." He stopped for a moment realizing how wrong it sounded.

"Until what?" The jumpers long forgotten she stood there with her hands resting on her hips. He knew what that meant, boy was he in trouble.

"Until Brandon told me we had one." He finished.

"You were in touch with Brandon?" He could already see where this will be heading; jumping into conclusions had always been her thing.

"No, I was not in touch with anyone. We bumped into each other some two weeks ago in Bahamas, he gave me a piece of mind and a photo of you and Ava. That's the reason why I'm back, that and the fact that I've missed you."

"No." Kelly shook her head. "You left Dylan, not caring about me or our child. You can't just come back after five years and pretend you missed me."

"Yes, I left, but I had a very good reason to."

"And what would that be? Feeling too much responsibility? Being scared of commitment? Or was it drugs, alcohol, or some other girl?" Kelly rolled her eyes annoyed.

Dylan breathed in and out, her words cutting like a knife, but he did not blame her, she had no idea. He never meant to show her the letter he got years ago, but maybe, maybe seeing it will bring some peace into her mind. Digging into the pocket of his jeans he pulled out the neatly folded sheet of paper which had gone a bit yellow with time. Unfolding it he handed it to her.

Kelly took it hesitantly a skeptic look on her face. Reading through the letter he could see her face lose color once again. Finishing it she folded the paper handing it back to him without a word. "I didn't want anyone to hurt you or our baby, that's why I left."

"Who sent it?" Kelly asked her eyes on him.

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does. If there is someone shooting at me... Oh God, Ava. She's in hospital alone." Kelly grabbed her bag ready to leave in hurry before Dylan grabbed her forearm stopping her from doing so.

"She is safe, Kelly. They are watching over her." Dylan assured her.

"Who are they?" He could tell she was losing any patience that she had with him. "Who were those guys outside Dylan?"

"Security. I left as they asked me to in the letter, but I don't trust those guys. That's why I hired people to make sure you and our kid were safe. They were doing a very good job, until today." He admitted.

Letting the bag fall back on the sofa, Kelly sat down next to it resting her head in her hands.

"Kel." Dylan said softly kneeling in front of her.

It took a while before Kelly said anything and even than it wasn't what he wanted to hear. "I can't do this Dylan, not now with everything else that's going on. I can't have some random guys shooting at me and bunch of other guys looking after me and Ava, supposedly keeping us safe." She looked at him pleadingly. "Just leave us alone, please."

"I can't..." Dylan replied, the words coming out just above whisper.

* * *

Andrea brushed the tears away from her face. She felt tired, defeated and cheated. She had always been strong and independent and marveled on the fact, but the one time she really needed Brandon's support, he just wasn't there.

Turning the lights in kitchen off, she headed upstairs. Peeking into Isaac's room she saw him sound asleep, the blanket kicked aside. With a soft smile she walked inside covering him. He was growing way too fast. Maybe Brandon was right, maybe they were both letting him down engrossed in their careers, trying to fit the kids and their family in whenever it worked. Closing the door behind her a jar she was surprised to see Hannah's room in darkness.

Opening the door as silently as she could she slowly pushed it fully open with the palm of her hand. The quiet sobs she could hear breaking her heart immediately.

Moving to Hannah's bed she turned the bedside lamp on seeing her daughter curled into a ball under her blanket.

"What's wrong Hannah?" Andrea asked pushing the few strands of dark hair away from her face.

"I heard you and Brandon, yelling at each other in the kitchen." Hannah said between the sobs.

"It wasn't the most grown up discussion, but adults sometimes need to let their feelings out to make things better." Andrea said softly, feeling like a mother failure for making her daughter aware of whatever issues she and Brandon were having at the moment.

"It reminded me how it all started years ago. You and dad were often yelling at each other, and then came the divorce." The last words came out barely above the whisper as new flood of tears spilled on Hannah's cheeks preventing her from saying anything else.

The only thing Andrea could do was stroke her daughter's back, she was not sure what to tell her. She had no idea that Hannah remembered her and Jessie fighting, or that she was even aware about their frequent fights back in the day as they always tried to keep her out of their problems as much as possible.

"We are not going to divorce over one fight." Andrea said finally trying to cheer her daughter up.

"You promise?" Hannah asked her eyes on her mother.

"I promise." Andrea confirmed, aware there was still a discussion coming up for her and Brandon and one apology that she owed him.

"Good." Hannah turned around assured by her mother's words. "Over the years I got used having him around. I mean he is a pretty good father." She grinned cheekily.

"He would be glad to hear that. Now get some sleep." Andrea smiled kissing her daughter's cheek before she stood up turning the light off.

"Good night, mom." Hannah called after her.

"Good night, Hannah." Andrea replied closing the door behind her. Leaning against the wall she took in a few deep breaths. She'll really have to discuss things calmly with Brandon very soon. Moving towards the master bedroom she knew she was not going to be able fall asleep any time soon. Grabbing a book that she was already reading for months she snuggled into a blanket in their bed determined to wait until Brandon will cool down and return back home.

* * *

Catching a glimpse of the clock on the car dashboard Brandon was surprised that more than hour passed since he left the house in furry. He has been driving through the streets of Los Angeles trying to calm down. He knew that thanks to his job he might not have been the most present father in Isaac's or Hannah's life, but whatever free time he had was always spent with his family, therefore he found Andrea's words that evening very unfair.

Passing the familiar white beach house with blue awnings he stopped the car deciding a bit of fresh air and ocean view could do him some good. Taking his shoes off, he walked down the shore as countless times before. The sun had already set in the distance, the skies becoming darker with every second, yet he recognized the familiar figure sitting down near the water immediately.

When he ran away that evening he was striving for some time alone to sort his thoughts, but maybe all he needed was to talk to a friend. Brandon moved forward. "Hey! Having a rough day?" He asked plopping down into the sand just a few feet away from Kelly.

Kelly looked up surprised to hear his voice, after short moment of hesitation she nodded her head softly.

"Ava?" He asked knowingly.

"…and Dylan." Kelly spoke looking at him. Brandon breathed in and out, wondering how much she knew.

"Yes, I heard he was back in town." Brandon admitted.

"I heard you two met in Bahamas of all places." Kelly added quickly.

"Kel.." Brandon started his voice soft.

"I don't blame you Brandon, this one is all on Dylan." Kelly cut him short. "Even if you told me you two met it would have changed nothing, there were far more important things happening."

"Now he is here." Brandon sighed dipping his toes into the wet sand.

"Yes." Kelly rubbed her face. "Whoever said be careful what you wish for couldn't be more right. For years I've wanted him back, I wanted a father for Ava. Now that he is here I just wish he would leave us alone."

"I hate to say it, but he does care about you two." Brandon let out not sure why he was trying to defend his friend.

Kelly let out a forced laugh. "So I heard, at least he keeps his story straight. So you have seen also the letter that made him leave I suppose?" She looked at him.

"No, did not get that one." Brandon smiled softly.

"That's a pity." Kelly replied looking away, silence setting between the two of them before Kelly spoke again. "Someone threatened him they'll kill me and our child if he did not provide them with information about his father's whereabouts. That's why he left; with him gone we were safe."

"Do you believe him?" Brandon asked, not trying to question Dylan's intentions, just to be sure.

"I guess so, he got the letter…it was definitely not new and then there was someone shooting at us today." Kelly sighed.

"What?" Brandon asked surprised how calm she acted despite that.

"I'm fine Brandon." Kelly mumbled. "Do you see those two guys on the right?"

Brandon squinted his eyes looking into the darkness. "Yes."

"My security. Ava's got her own one, courtesy of Mr. McKay." Kelly rolled her eyes unseen to Brandon.

"So he came back and arranged security for the two of you?" Brandon asked not really understanding the situation.

"They've been apparently around since the day he left. I never noticed them." Kelly shrugged. "You know what sucks the most?" Kelly sighed looking into the darkness that engulfed them not really waiting for an answer from Brandon. "I wish I could hate that guy for what he did, but I can't, I still love him." The words came out muffled.

"You can't help your feelings." Brandon mumbled.

"That's true, but I'm old enough to be able to put my mind before my feelings." Kelly sighed. "But enough about me, I suppose you were not taking a late evening walk on the beach to find me and discuss my daughter's father."

"No." Brandon laughed softly. "But it was a nice distraction from my own problems."

"You had a fight with Andrea." Kelly concluded quickly.

"You should really consider a career change Sherlock." Brandon shook his head playfully.

"You've always been too easy to read." Kelly shrugged. "I'm just surprised the two of you have anything to fight about."

"That makes two of us. She has been stressed lately and I haven't been around as much as I should." Brandon sighed finally admitting also to himself what their issue was.

"She is stressed because of Ava?" Kelly asked surprised as she did not notice anything during the past days.

Brandon remained silent biting inside of his cheek, he really should have kept his mouth shut on the subject.

"Brandon?" Kelly asked when he remained silent.

"She finds it difficult to keep her distance when it comes to Ava and not get too emotionally involved." Brandon admitted.

Now it was Kelly who remained silent burying her toes into the cold sand.

"Kelly that does not mean she does not want to care for her." Brandon spoke softly.

"Yeah." Kelly said brushing him off her thoughts running wild. "I should head back to the hospital." Standing up from the cold sand Kelly brushed it from her jeans.

"I will walk you to the car." Brandon said quickly mirroring her actions.

"You don't have to, I already have two bodyguards." Kelly joked.

"True and it looks they are ready to leave as well." Brandon agreed looking in the direction where the two guys were.

"Thank you Brandon." Kelly hugged him quickly. "I'll see you around." She picked up her shoes.

"See you around Kel." Brandon said softly watching as her slender form disappeared from his sight dropping back into the sand when he couldn't see her anymore, despite figuring a few things out he was still not ready to head back home to his wife.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Taking the drink from the barman Brandon looked around the filled club, it felt ironical that most of the kids there were probably half his age and shouldn't be there at all. Things certainly went downhill after Dylan and few months also David stepped away from the club, he would have left but this was the only place he was familiar with as this was no longer that kind of establishment that he and his friends were looking for on a rare night out.

After Kelly left the beach he spent another half an hour sitting down by the shore. It gave him the chance to clear his thoughts coming to the conclusion that he overreacted and Andrea as well, but they both needed to cool down, that's why he decided to come to After Dark. Ready to take the first sip of his bourbon he spotted a familiar figure, letting out a barely audible sight. He could easily avoid him in the filled club, but that was not how Brandon operated. Something good could come out even from the most unpleasant meeting, he moved in his direction.

"Hey!" Stopping on the other side of the table that was occupied by his former best friend his eyes fell on the bunch of empty glasses standing there. The drink in Dylan's hand was certainly not the first one that evening, nor the last the glassy eyes that were now looking in his direction were the confirmation of it.

Without a as much as a greeting Dylan again looked down into his glass again. Brandon decided to take it as an invitation and sat down across from Dylan.

"I heard you were back in town, was not expecting to meet you here considering the years of alleged absence." Brandon sat his still untouched glass on the table.

"Old place, old habits." Dylan shrugged gulping down the contents of his glass and setting it to the site, grabbing another one with the same intention.

Leaning forward Brandon stopped his hand before he could drink it. "I'm going to say this only once so you better listen to me, if you want her back than stop acting like an immature teenager whenever things are not going your way. Show her she can trust you, especially now when Ava's not doing so well and they both need all the support they can get."

Letting go off the glass Dylan let out a forced laugh. "As always you think you know it all, but you have no idea."

"Really, I don't? I just spent half an hour down at the beach listening to her woes." The words just fired out before Brandon could really think about them or the impact they were going to have.

"So this is what it is all about. Happily married with a side chick?" Dylan irrationally accused him pushing the chair away and standing up wobbly on his feet.

"If that's would you like to think, then so be it. There is no point in reasoning with you when you are completely wasted." Brandon spat back standing up equally livid.

"You are so full of it." The rage just kept growing and with full force Dylan launched his fist towards Brandon's face.

Brandon saw the movement and jumped aside watching as Dylan wobbled but surprisingly found his footing quickly and attacked again this time hitting the target. Brandon felt the bruise growing, seeing and hearing nothing, in rage he returned the punch.

He had no idea how much time has passed or how many blows he got and returned before he felt a pair of strong hands dragging him away from Dylan. Breathing heavily he caught a glimpse of Dylan's face, he was not looking very good and judging by the pain and swelling he felt around his right eye he was probably not looking that hot himself.

Boy, they were both so in trouble.

* * *

An hour later the front door closed behind Brandon with a soft thud. Losing no time he kicked his shoes off in the entry hall and continued straight for the freezer grabbing a bag of frozen peas and placing it on his eye cursing silently at the coldness and pain.

He had to admit they got off very easily. No police involved, only signed confirmation that they will never return, which he had no issue with. He never planned to return to After Dark anyway.

Andrea, on the other hand, was for sure not going to be so merciful once she will find out about the fist fight they've showcased that evening. He had no idea what had gotten into him, he was not the type that would lower him to physical attacks or provoke one. In hindsight even though meant differently his words to Dylan were a pure provocation. Maybe it has been the built up rage of the past days that he took out on him, the fight with Andrea, meeting with Jesse in New York and everything else that was going around, not that any of it justified his actions.

Opening the freezer he threw the bag of peas back in before heading upstairs. He opened the bedroom door almost noiselessly finding Andrea curled in the bed with the light on and an opened book next to her. Taking the book he turned off the light finding his way to the bathroom in the moonlight lit room. He needed a shower and something for the nagging pain.

Returning back minutes later, he found the light in the bedroom back on and his wife waiting for him. Luck was not on his side that day.

"What happened to you?" She asked spotting his right eye, that he could barely see through and the bluish bruise that kept growing on the left side of his chin.

He could have lied, but that would do him no good. "I got into a fight." He mumbled sitting on their bed. Reaching forward Andrea turned his head to fully observe his colorful face.

"We should head to the ER, that eye does not look good." She concluded.

"It will be fine." Brandon mumbled, he just got back home and the idea of spending hours in ER did not sound very appealing.

"Okay." She sighed, not pleased with his answer, but there was no way she could force him to go.

"That's it? You are not going to ask how it happened." He asked surprised by the lack of reaction from her.

Andrea shrugged narrowing her eyes on him. "You are a grown up man, if you think getting into a fight was the right way of handling whatever happened then so be it. I'm just not sure if this is the kind of message we want to pass on to the kids."

"No, it's definitely not that kind of message that I want to pass on to Isaac and Hannah." Brandon mumbled.

Andrea opened and closed her mouth, finally not saying anything.

"You just wanted to ask why I would do it if I knew it was wrong." Brandon smiled softly.

"Yeah." Andrea admitted. "But I do not want to make whatever is going on between us even worse, with starting another meaningless fight." She looked at him hopefully all the rage of the past days finally gone.

"I'm sorry, Andrea." Brandon said finally.

"Me too. I blew it out of proportion." She let out.

"Well, the cold shoulder treatment was a little bit over the top." Brandon joked, inwardly feeling relieved. "But you made several good points."

Andrea raised her brows waiting for him to continue.

"Parenting a threenager and a pre-teen is not the easiest of a job and we should be on the same page to handle it." Brandon smiled.

"That's true, what I got wrong was expecting you to read my mind or be around at all times when it's not something I do." Andrea smiled softly.

"I could have asked as well." Brandon noted.

"Yes, but that's pretty difficult when I'm not talking to you." Andrea chuckled.

"It was a tangled situation to say at least."

"Now that we are talking again, will you tell me how you got these two?" Andrea pointed to his bruises.

"Dang, I should have known we have not closed this topic yet." Brandon shook his head playfully.

"Nope." Andrea replied pushing herself up and resting her back against the headboard.

"Dylan." He said one word and could hear Andrea groan in response.

"I should have known it will come to this earlier or later." She shook her head.

"Hmm, it was my fault. I provoked it." Brandon admitted.

"Why?" Andrea asked, this did not sound like the Brandon she knew.

"It just got too much and he was there an easy target to relieve all the stress and tension. I knew it was not right, but did it anyway." Brandon sighed.

Instinctively Andrea knew Brandon was not telling her everything, even when Brandon was under stress or they were fighting this was not the way he typically relieved his issues, but she had no energy to deal with it at that moment. "How does he look?" She asked instead.

"Hmm, about the same as me, plus or minus a bruise or two."

"I keep wondering if you two will ever grow out of these childish acts." She shook her head slipping back down into the sheets. "We are not done yet, but I need to get some sleep before tomorrow." She yawned.

"That's one thing I'm sure off Mrs. Walsh." Brandon chuckled joining her.

"Zuckermann-Walsh." She corrected him, her eyes already closed.

"Yes, my strong and independent wife."

"Who needs her husband around to have my back." She mumbled in reply.

Brandon breathed in and out cuddling up to her. "And he will." Was the last thing he said before they both nodded off into the land of dreams.

* * *

It was around the same time when Dylan made it back to his hotel room. The fresh air outside and long walk back to the hotel did him good and sobered him up. What his clouded mind considered a provocation, his semi-sober one evaluated as a word of advice from a friend.

For the first time in days he felt ready to take Brandon's advice to heart. Kicking off his shoes he continued straight to the bathroom. Stopping briefly in front of the mirror he observed his colorful face concluding quickly he had seen worse. Brandon has never been good at fights, he grinned remembering how they unintentionally broke Steve's nose back in the day. Stripping off his clothes he moved into the shower the droplets of hot water whipping his skin.

Turning the water off he wrapped a white towel around his waist heading into the bedroom. His eyes fell on the bottle of vodka on his night table. Without giving it a second thought he picked the bottle up and poured its contents into the toilet, flashing it up.

Brandon was right, alcohol and self pity were never going to bring him back the family he gave up all those years ago. Being sober and showing Kelly she can rely on him were giving him at least some chance that she might change her mind.

Letting the towel fall on the floor, he pulled a pair of boxer shorts over his lean hips. Dropping into the bed seconds later he was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

* * *

Kelly has been up for hours tossing and turning in the uncomfortable hospital bed before she gave up and got dressed shortly before the nurse made the first round of the day at 6 am. She has been sitting in the same spot ever since just watching her daughter sleep and letting her thoughts wander freely.

The talk with Brandon the previous night was supposed to calm her down, yet it set off a different flood of worry. Ever since Ava was admitted to the hospital she was glad that it was Andrea who was assigned as her doctor. She knew she could trust her friend fully and never doubted a word she said or anything she did when it came to Ava's health. Now when she knew how stressful all of this has been for her, she felt guilty that she had not noticed it on her own.

This has been on her mind when the door opened and Andrea walked in. Seeing that Ava was still asleep she walked closer to Kelly. "Good morning." She said quietly.

"Good morning, Andrea." Kelly replied, yawning as she stood up from her sanctuary. "Sorry." She mumbled.

"Didn't get much sleep last night?" Andrea asked, noticing how tense Kelly was that morning.

"No." Kelly replied quickly her eyes on Ava.

"What about our patient?"

"She slept the whole night, woke up after 6 am when the nurse was running her morning round, but went right back to sleep afterwards." Kelly narrated.

"That sounds very good, looks that we finally hit the anti-nausea medication." Andrea smiled.

"Yes, thankfully, I don't think I was going to make it through another wave of nausea." Kelly returned her smile.

"To be completely honest with you, it's something I didn't get used to until now as well." Andrea screwed her face.

"It's not a pretty sight." Kelly agreed.

Andrea looked through Ava's chart which very much confirmed what Kelly has told her before and scribbled down a few notes as well. "We will start with another dose of chemotherapy after 10 am, should be easier this time." He eyes drifted to the little girl who was still asleep.

"Hopefully, it will." Kelly mumbled not tearing her sight away from her daughter.

"Alright, I'll see you two later." Andrea said ready to leave the room, but before she could open the door Kelly's voice stopper her.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" Kelly asked.

"Sure." Andrea agreed moving back.

"Privately, if it's possible." Kelly's eyes drifted from Andrea to Ava.

"Yes, no problem." Andrea confirmed the two of them leaving the hospital room and heading to Andrea's office.

"Look, I'm not sure how to say this and if it's going to make sense at all, but I talked to Brandon yesterday." Kelly started.

Somehow this fact did not surprise Andrea, even after everything that happened between the two of them, cancelled wedding and each of them being in love with other people, they always unwittingly gravitated towards each other. "That was before or after he gained new shades of color to his face?" Andrea asked trying to enlighten the mood.

"I'd say before, although it was getting dark down at the shore." Kelly smiled softly.

"So what did the husband of mine do this time?" Andrea encouraged her to continue.

"He told me about your doubts." Kelly bit the inside of her mouth, the words were out.

"Kelly…" Andrea started knowing where this will head and silently cursing Brandon and his big mouth, but Kelly interrupted her quickly.

"Andrea, I just want you to know that I'm grateful for all that you are doing for Ava. Having you on our side while she is battling her illness is very reassuring for both of us, but if you decide that it's too much and you can't keep the distance that you need to make all the decision in Ava's best interest, I'd understand if you hand her over to another doctor." Kelly narrated, feeling happy that the words were out and making at least some sense.

"You would?" Andrea asked surprised.

"Absolutely, you've been like family to us in the past years. I don't want you to stress over this." Kelly confirmed.

"Thank you, Kelly." Andrea said.

"No, thank you. So what happened to Brandon's face yesterday?" She inquired.

"He got into a fight." Andrea said watching as Kelly raised her brows. "With Dylan." She added quickly.

Kelly let out a groan in reply. "Are those two ever going to grow up?" She asked finally.

"I doubt it." Andrea shook her head.

"Hmm, me too. Well, I won't keep you away from your work any longer. There are for sure patients waiting for you." Kelly said standing up.

"I'll see you later, Kelly." Andrea called after her watching as the door closed behind her and she will have to talk to her husband in the afternoon. There were some things that were supposed to stay between the two of them.

* * *

Several hours later in the same hospital Dylan made his way upstairs to the children oncology unit. Holding a pink teddy bear in his hand he remained standing still in the hallway in front of the door that he knew led inside of his daughter's hospital room.

Breathing in and out he finally found the courage to face them. Knocking on the door he waited, but when no reply came he pushed the door open quietly only to find his daughter asleep in the hospital bed and his ex-girlfriend curled up and asleep in the armchair in the corner of the room.

His eyes were running from one to another before they were met with the same pair of dark eyes that he saw in the mirror every morning looking directly at him.

"Daddy?" The one simple word said by a five year old melted his heart.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

In a split second Kelly's eyes flied open, the sleep that she strived for just mere second ago was suddenly the last thing on her mind. Her head was spinning and she had no idea how to react. She never expected Dylan will have the guts and show up in hospital, before she could say or do anything the scene in front of her evolved.

"Daddy?!" Ava repeated her eyes glued to her father whom she only knew from photographs.

"Hi, Ava." Dylan let out, swallowing hard. This was not what he expected; he never expected his daughter would know who he was. Although in hindsight after what Kelly went through with her own father and Jackie, there was just no way she was going to do the same to her own daughter.

"Mommy! Daddy is here!" Ava said turning her attention from Dylan to Kelly, her dark eyes glued to her mother.

"Yes, he is sweetheart." Kelly smiled at her daughter sweetly, but when her eyes turned to Dylan he could quickly see the pain behind her smile. It felt almost unbearable, he knew the bare sight of him was causing her pain at the moment yet he had no idea how to deal with it any other way except being there for their daughter and for her as well, sometimes you just have to walk through all the pain to make it all better.

"Mommy I told you daddy will come back." Kelly could see a bright smile on her daughter's face, the first genuine smile in days and no matter how hard she found it to deal with her own emotions after Dylan appeared in her life again from thin air, she was glad the bare sight of him could cheer up her daughter a little.

"Oh, yes you did. You must have really wished hard for him to come back Ava." Kelly noted standing up from her sacred place and moving towards her daughter's bed.

"Yes, I did." Ava confirmed quickly, her eyes shining brightly again as she turned back to her father. "Are you going to live with mommy and me now?"

Dylan had no idea how to answer his daughter's question. Hell yes, he'd have loved if he and Kelly were a couple and could give their daughter a home and a family they never had while growing up, but he was fully aware that he threw all of that out of the window the moment he decided to leave them alone, no matter how good his intentions were at that time. He looked at Kelly helplessly hoping she could answer the question for him somehow.

"Not yet, Avie." She said softly, brushing her daughter's dark hair away from her face soothingly.

"Why not mommy? Uncle David and Aunt Donna live together with Rose and Emma, and Aunt Andrea and Uncle Brandon live together too with Hannah and Isaac. Why can't daddy live with us?" Ava asked and the tears were threatening to fall.

Kelly sat down on the side of her daughter's bed with a soft sight, taking her free hand into hers. "Do you remember what we talked about a few days back? How we talked with Aunt Andrea that you will have to stay here in hospital for a while, until your tummy is all healthy and does not hurt you anymore?"

Ava nodded her head in reply.

"See and I'll be here with you, so daddy would be at home all alone while we are in hospital." Kelly explained.

"You are right mommy." Ava agreed finally deep in thought and Kelly breathed a sigh of relief, she knew that Ava was going to bring up living situation again in the future, but at least for now there was a valid reason why Dylan was not living with them.

"Daddy?" Ava asked again.

"Yes, Ava?"

"Will you come to visit me and mommy while I'm at hospital?"

Dylan moved away the teddy bear that he set on the bed previously and sat down on the other side of his daughter's bed. "Every day." He confirmed, watching as his daughter's lips curled up into a smile. His eyes met Kelly's again and he could see the same pain as he did minutes earlier. It was going to take a while before things were going to get any better between them, not that he expected anything else.

* * *

Andrea listened to Isaac's never ending flood of words while driving back home, next to her in the passenger seat Hannah has been all silent the whole drive and knowing her daughter she was sure that the flood of words coming from her brother in the back seat had nothing to do with it.

Stopping the car in front of their house, Hannah disappeared inside before Andrea got Isaac out of the car another rather untypical behavior on her daughter's part. Andrea wrinkled her forehead in worry, she'll have to talk to her rather sooner than later.

Getting inside the house she was surprised to find Brandon already home. "What happened to Hannah?" He asked before kissing Andrea hello.

"No idea." Andrea shrugged looking towards the stairs as they could hear the door to Hannah's room being shut.

"Can you keep an eye on Isaac while I talk to Hannah?" Andrea asked turning her attention back to her husband and handing the little boy to him.

"Sure." Brandon said looking after her worryingly.

Knocking on Hannah's door, Andrea waited for her daughter's reply. When nothing came she decided to open the door anyway. "Han? Can we talk?" She asked peeking inside. Seeing her daughter lay in bed with her head buried into a pillow she was sure that Hannah was crying. Walking inside she closed the door behind her.

"Had something happened in school, Hannah?" Andrea asked sitting down on her daughter's bed before she put her hand on Hannah's back soothingly. But instead of soothing her daughter it had the opposite effect and Hannah pushed her mother's head away moving to the opposite side of the bed and away from her mother.

"When were you going to tell me?" Hannah yelled at her mother with a tear stroked face.

"When was I going to tell you what?" Andrea asked not having the slightest idea what Hannah had on her mind.

"That dad is moving to New York." Hannah cried out.

"What?" Andrea asked looking at her daughter stunned.

"He sent me a message while I was waiting for you." Hannah explained chocking on her tears.

Andrea felt like yelling or kicking something or better someone. "I'm sorry, Han. I knew that Sandra had a job interview over the weekend in New York, but I had no idea that she got the job."

Hannah curled up into a ball on the bed and no matter how tense the situation was Andrea had to smile inwardly at that sight. It was something that Hannah used to do ever since she was a little girl.

"I love him, but sometimes I wish he wasn't in my life at all." Hannah said quietly.

"No matter what he does, I'm sure he loves you Hannah." Andrea assured her daughter although at the very same moment she had no desire to defend her ex-husband in front of their daughter.

"Yes, in a very twisted way." Hannah let out a sigh sitting up again. "I'm sorry about before, mom. I was mad at him and I took it out on you. I mean, I know that in the last few years he has not been a hands on father as Brandon is, and the relationship between us is not that close, but I was rather disappointed that he didn't even had the decency to call me, but send a text instead."

"And you have every right to be disappointed." Andrea confirmed moving forward and giving her daughter a hug, this time Hannah did not fight her and melted into her mother's embrace. This was the last thing that Andrea would expect Jesse would do, but obviously he had no desire to care about their daughter's feelings anymore and that pure thought saddened her.

* * *

The hospital room door closed with a soft thud after Kelly and Dylan stepped out of their daughter's room. Ava finally fell asleep minutes before exhausted after the long day and the treatments. Somehow Dylan expected a heated fight the moment they'd step outside, but it was not coming. Instead Kelly leaned back against the closed door, looking just as tired as their daughter did moments ago…she had no power to fight him or anyone else at that moment, but he still needed some answers.

"How did she know who I am?" He asked softly, eyeing his ex-girlfriend.

"I showed her your pictures as soon as she started asking about her father, the first time a year or a year and half ago." Kelly massaged her temples moving towards a bench a few meters away from the door to their daughter's room. "I never wanted her to think that she had no father…her father just wasn't here with us." She said softly resting her head in the palms of her hands.

"I'm sorry, Kel." Dylan let out, for the first time fully realizing how difficult it must have been for Kelly after he left.

"I never wanted to be like Jackie, that moment you left I made a promise to myself that no matter what my feelings and thoughts about you were going to be, in front of her you were always going to be her father who loves her, but can't be here with us. And if she was ever going to thing that her father is an asshole that left us alone, she'll have to come to that realization all alone and never hear it from me, my family or our friends." Kelly pulled her legs up wrapping her arms around them.

"Asshole sums it up nicely." Dylan agreed looking at Kelly who has closed her eyes for a moment.

"Yes, it does." She confirmed, slowly opening her eyes again and taking in his face before her sight drifted away to the two guys seated on a similar bench few feet away, whom she now knew were her and Ava's bodyguards.

Dylan followed her line of sight and when his eyes drifted back to her face, he could see her looking straight at him again. Even without saying a word he knew exactly what she was thinking, this was another thing he had to take care off if their daughter's dream of a family should ever come true.

Standing up, he pressed a quick kiss on Kelly's cheek. "I'll see you two tomorrow." He spoke before turning around ready to leave.

"Dylan?" Kelly called after him softly, waiting for him to turn back around. "Thanks for coming today, seeing you was the first thing that made her smile again."

"Anytime, Kel." He said softly before turning back towards the elevators and walking out leaving her alone.

* * *

Drinking the last gulp of her wine Andrea set the glass on the floor next to her looking into the fireplace. The kids were finally asleep and the fight between her and Brandon was nearly forgotten, so it was a quiet evening for the two of them. She felt as Brandon took her hand into his, intertwining their fingers, but she made no effort to look away from the flames. "I feel like a fool." She said finally.

"Come on, Andrea. This one is all on Jesse."

"Yes, but I had a child with that guy, married him, trusted him and no matter how things ended between us, I always thought he was a good father to Hannah. Boy how wrong have I been all those years?" Andrea said resting her head against the couch.

"That still does not make you a fool, even people we know very well might change and there is nothing we can do about it." Brandon reasoned with her.

"Yes, they can…the most ironic thing in all this mess is that even after handling things this poorly his daughter still loves him and even admits that he might love her as well, albeit in a very twisted way." Andrea let out a sigh.

"Well, Hannah might not be that far off from the truth." Brandon mumbled.

"What do you mean?" Andrea asked, her numbed mind jumping straight back to life.

"I met him on my first evening in New York." Brandon admitted.

Andrea let out a groan. "That's it. I swear I'm calling your boss first thing in the morning, you are not traveling anywhere for months to come…first Dylan, now Jesse."

"Well I do have a negative streak lately…" Brandon admitted letting out a soft chuckle.

"Oh, yes…so spill the beans Walsh, what happened in New York? I assume the meeting didn't end with a polite hello and how are you?"

"No, it didn't." Brandon confirmed still not elaborating any further. Back in New York he told Jesse that if he wanted to open this topic, he would have to do it by himself, but by the look of things that was not going to happen. "He wants me to adopt Hannah." Brandon said finally.

"What?" Andrea stared at her husband, for the umpteenth time that day feeling speechless.


End file.
